In all of time, how many people do you think have been born? Imagine the amount of zeros in that number since the total population today is about 7.5 billion.
Man cannot determine even the current total. But God, the creator of every single one, knows not just numbers, but the identity of each person. He even know those babies conceived but sadly not born from the very beginning of time! And He has recorded the days that were formed for every single one of those countless to us souls.
But Revelation 3:5 tells of another far more important book: “The one who overcomes will be clothed in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life.”
The Book of Life records only the names of each person who chooses to believe in Jesus for salvation. The title is accurate, for “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
Though we don’t know a lot about what eternal life will be like, God, in His great kindness, has given us glimpses. This peek into His library provides both assurance and the hint of the familiar.
We can be assured that we can one day go to heaven if our name is recorded in this most important book. It is a guaranteed ticket into a place described as, “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).
Though the sight of angels and streets of gold will certainly be unlike anything we know on earth, there will be echoes of familiarity in God’s books. Like treasured volumes on earth that bring comfort, insight, and instruction, seeing our name written in God’s Book of Life will bring joy and the beginning of eternal discoveries.
-Is your name in this book?
-What about the names of your family?
-Does the anticipation of books in heaven make you feel more excited about your future?
Make this a topic of dinner conversation one night. Have everyone describe what they envision heaven to be like, using these verses to help you get started.
That word, “OVERCOME” brings me such hope today! This is Monday. Every Monday I fast and pray for my son who has walked away from his relationship with God. As he struggles through depression, and has believed the lies of the Enemy who has convinced him that God is not real, today that word ‘overcome’ speaks volumes! My son hiked a portion of the Appalachian Trail over Father’s Day weekend. His time in the woods is his method of clearly his mind. In a journal entry that he wrote over those days, and then posted on Facebook, he wrote: “I miss God….and then went on to write about the peace, the comfort, the friendship that he missed in this relationship with God. He ended by saying that he can’t have this, though, because he no longer believes that God exists. This mom will continue to Fast and Pray until he OVERCOMES! Thank you for this encouragement.
I have not until now even thought of God’s books as a library we will be able to one day read. What a sweet thought! Thank you!
I really liked this post. It would be good to have follow-up scripture for those who want to find out what the Bible teaches.