Many of us have heard the good news how Jesus has prepared a place in Heaven for those who put their trust in Him—the emphasis being on the future. But God has good things in store for us today. That’s because Jesus not only prepared a future place for us in Heaven — He prepared a present and active place for Himself the day we received Him into our heart. His goal has always been to rule and reign here and now in a heart now freed to serve Him.  This is the prize He won on the cross of Calvary—a gift to His Heavenly Father—because salvation in the end is not just about us going to heaven when we die, it’s about the glorious triumph over sin and evil that is all about God working in us through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Every one of us who carries the presence of Jesus in our hearts, carries within us the presence of His Heavenly character, even if we don’t express it as we should. Even when we yield to the old-self and fail to reflect Jesus, still His character can be activated through faith once more. Having power to access and express His life through faith is His crowning glory. It is what Jesus gave His life for.  Surely we owe our all to Him.   

When our thoughts are only concerned with what God has promised to do for us in the future, we tend to neglect what direction our lives should be taking today. We tend to compare our life to others and become complacent, instead of comparing our life to our ever-present Jesus, and striving to be like Him.  Shall we not surrender our all to Him who sacrificed His all for us?  Jesus is with us every day if we’ve believed – always ready to receive us, always ready to restore, renew, and make us more like Him.

Copyright 2022. Toni Babcock is author of Reflections from the Heart in Light of the Gospel of Jesus, and The Stone Writer, Christian Fiction for Young Readers and Teens. Many of her devotionals have been featured on www.faithwriters.com.