“Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord listened and heard them; so, a book of remembrance was written before Him, for those who fear the Lord and who meditate on His name” (Malachi 3:16).
Did you know that the Bible mentions various books on how God will remember His people?
There’s the Book concerning our destiny (Psalm 139:16), in which the idea that the life of a person, and the structure and meaning of that person’s life, are all established from the beginning by God, and recorded in His book. Then there’s the Book of Life (Revelation 3:5), which is a list of the eternally redeemed. There are also the books that are opened at the great white throne of judgment, that are filled with the works of unbelieving humanity (Revelation 20:12). Those whose names are written in the Lambs Book of Life will be judged for rewards, while the others will be judged for judgement. There is also the Book of Tears (Psalm 56:8), where all of our pain and every tear we have cried, is bottled and recorded. And lastly, but not least, is the Book of Remembrance, which shows that God does not ignore those who are faithful to Him.
Obviously, God does not need books to keep track of the deeds of humanity. However, He uses this language to relate to us in a way we will understand. It was common for kings to keep record of service to the kingdom so that people could be rewarded properly. We see this in the book of Esther (6:1-3) as it mentions the book of the records of the chronicles. This would be the official record of the Persian Empire, as events were continually recorded and read to the king. We also see this in the Bible in 1 and 2 Chronicles, which is loaded with history.
Jesus continually encouraged His followers to store up treasures in heaven: do not do your charitable deeds to be seen by men, love your enemies, go the second mile, do not judge, and rejoice that your name is written in heaven (Luke 10:20)…to name just a few. He spoke in parables to continually get His point across. One such parable was the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30). Essentially, it’s about being faithful to the portion of kingdom work that God has entrusted to your care. We have been given kingdom assignments, and our first assignment is to know Him, to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Our love for Him is so important that He has a special book of remembrance for those who revere Him and meditate upon His name. Are your spiritual disciplines bringing you to a place of this kind of holy, reverential fear and adoration?
The passage continues: “They shall be Mine,” says the Lord of hosts, “On the day that I make them My jewels. And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.” Then you shall again discern between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him” (Malachi 3:17-18). The excitement of these words is that God uses the wonderful endearing term of “jewels” to refer to those who are faithful to Him. That term could also be rendered “special treasure.” Serving God means putting Him first, obeying His commands, and finding one’s chief joy in life as the advancement of the glory of His name!
What will your works reveal about you? Are you storing up treasures in heaven? Are you building upon the foundation of Jesus Christ with wood, hay or stubble (things to be seen and appreciated by the world), or are you building upon the foundation with gold, silver and precious stones (things the Lord deems worthy and the world can’t see)? “Every man’s works shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is” (1 Corinthians 3:12-13).
How will you be remembered?
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