We are all well aware of the Lamb’s Book of Life and the books that unbelievers will be judged from, but there are other books the Bible records for us. I was reminded of one the other morning as I worked my way through Ezra 2; an otherwise rather unexciting list of all those who returned to Jerusalem after Cyrus’ decree.
In reading through that chapter I was taken by the fact that God had Ezra record all those whom He remembered. He remembered families, the priests, the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, and even the Nethinims. Remember them? They were the Gibeonites who knew that Joshua would destroy them and so the tricked Israel into a peace treaty by pretending to live far away when they lived right next door; next in line for Israel to conquer. Joshua honored that covenant but they were forever to be slaves of Israel to cut wood and carry water (Josh 9:21). Here God remembers their service by honoring them in His Word. God never fails to remember every single thing we do in this life and especially He records those things that we do just for Him in His Book of Remembrance (Mal 3:16).
The Bible is replete with recorded acts of service like Simon of Cyrene who carried Jesus’ cross (Matt 27:32) and the Samaritan woman who drew water for Jesus to drink (John 4:9); both of whom became His followers. In reading some notes from Pastor Jon Courson he points out: “That’s why the Lord asks us to do things. He knows that if we serve Him, out hearts will be linked to Him. He’s not after our service, He’s after our hearts.”
So, in reading the list in Ezra 2 I was reminded that God will not forget our labor in ministry (Hebrews 6:10). Malachi 3:16 tells us that every time we talk about the things of the Kingdom, God records it in the Book of Remembrance. It should remind us that God doesn’t care for His Son’s bride as a “group,” He cares for each one as an individual. So much so that He never misses a moment that we spend in serving Him by sharing the message of His coming Kingdom.
In Ezra 2 we have a perfect example of this. God remembered all those who were willing to leave the comfortable life they had developed in Persia after being taken there and return to Jerusalem. They gave up their worldly comfort, their “good life” in Babylon, in order to return to their God. How big a deal was that? They are not only remembered in God’s secret book but they are remembered in His Word; in public for all to see… for ever!
I wonder, if we were to get a peek into His Book of Remembrance that has our name on its cover, what would we read? Would the pages be full or would there be evidence of precious little ink? There is so much that we fail to consider, or choose to ignore, that is going on in the realm of the Spirit around us 24×7. God has given each of us who are called the bride of Christ a book with many pages to record all those “unseen” things we do for Him. Those things He asks of us that may never get the attention of others; those things that are for an audience of One. It will be from those pages that we will have our life reviewed at His Judgment Seat. Will those pages result in the incredible rewards He wants to give us… or will they be silent as He opens our book.
Yes, we are in the Lamb’s Book of Life (Rev 21:27)… but don’t forget that God has other books that we need to be ever mindful of. And His Book of Remembrance is one in which we “dictate all the entries.” It’s probably very wise of us to keep our ears open for the voice of His Spirit. We really don’t want to miss any of the opportunities He brings before us to draw ever closer to Him… He remembers every one.