The Weekly Encourager – April 26, 2021 – Have Your I.D. Ready

For several weeks, our church meeting place was also being used as a vaccination station for COVID-19. A security guard was posted at the front door, and as soon as we entered, another person would say, “Have your I.D. ready.” We would answer, “Good morning! We’re here for church. Have a good day.” Then we were free to bypass a multitude of tables with various people, papers, and equipment.

One of my favorite comic strips shows a long line of people waiting to get into heaven. They each have to give their name to St. Peter, who stands at an entrance podium similar to that used at fine restaurants. One guy in line turns to his friend and says, “We should have called ahead for a reservation.”

Exactly! Our government-issued I.D. is an essential item that we need to go places and do things in this world. We need it to travel. We need it to get vaccinated against deadly diseases. We need it to prove who we are and where we belong. But it won’t get us into Heaven. The only way to get into Heaven is by calling ahead for a reservation. By faith, we look at Christ’s death upon the cross and His resurrection on Easter morning. In heartfelt prayer, we call upon the Lord Jesus to forgive our sin. Because He is loving and merciful, He forgives us. He has gone ahead to prepare a place for us. He has set a beautiful table where all who are His will enjoy an abundant feast together. Fine dining, indeed.

God has issued me a permanent passport that can never be damaged, lost, revoked, or stolen. This I.D. now states to one and all that my new name is Christian, my new position in society is daughter of the King, and my new country is Mount Zion. This document certifies that I have believed in Christ and received the gift of the Holy Spirit. It’s the earnest of an eternal inheritance of joy, shalom peace, true love, and precious fellowship. This card gives me the right to travel directly to Heaven – do not pass Go, do not collect $200. It gives me the promise of complete healing from every deadly disease, sorrow, and pain man has ever known. Because of Jesus, I have a passport that will never expire. Do you?

Satan and his cronies are busy trying to convince people that we need something else to make it into Heaven. They say we need to be good enough, strong enough, smart enough, rich enough, popular enough, powerful enough, or whatever. But these are all lies from the father of lies. When Satan attacks, all we have to do is cry out to Jesus and stand firm. How do we do this? We pull out the passport and review our identity in Christ. If we belong to Christ, we are safe!

I love the final verse of “Jesus Lives, and So Shall I” by Christian F. Gellert:

“Jesus lives, and death is now but my entrance into glory.
Courage, then, my soul, for thou hast a crown of life before thee;
thou shalt find thy hopes were just: Jesus is the Christian's trust.”

Have your I.D. ready.

God is faithful,
j

Copyright 2021 Janet A. Marney
To hear a beautiful modern tune to this classic old hymn, visit http://www.newhymns.org/jesus-lives-and-so-shall-i/index.html