Naked we come, Clothed we return.

I grew up listening to people who said ‘naked we come, naked we return’. I heard it so many times, I started to believe the same until a got a different revelation. It is true that we come into the world naked, but as believers, do you know that when we leave, we leave clothed in glory and carrying our deeds with us!

Sometimes, because of the mentality that we return naked and with nothing, as Christians, we don’t do enough while here on earth, especially for the kingdom of God. We dont realize how important our deeds are. The truth is, our deeds today are being stored up and will follow us when we depart from this world. Revelation 14 verse 13 says “ Blessed are the dead which lie in the Lord… that they may rest from their labors, and their deeds do follow them”.

Now is the time to do those things God has laid on your heart to do, for your church, your neighbour, even for yourself.

Tabitha’s good deed was enough to bring her back from the dead! The bible said she was full of good works and almsdeeds (Acts 9, verse 36). She fell sick and died, they washed her body, laid in an upper chamber and sent for Peter.

When Peter arrived, they showed him the coats and garments which Tabitha had made while she was with them. The Bible says , Peter put them forth, knelt down, and prayed. Then he turned to the body and said, Tabitha, arise! And she did.

I want to lay emphasis on the fact that he looked at her ‘good deeds’ first, before turning to her body. It’s the same when we die, God wants to know what we have done with our time on earth, and every deed we have carried out in obedience to his word counts. What you do with your time here and now, determines what awaits you after death. It determines whether you will enjoy eternal life or suffer eternal death.

1 Corinthians 15, verse 42-44 says “So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable;  it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power;  it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body’. This spiritual body reflects the glory of Christ.

2 Corinthians 4, verse 17-18 says “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all”. Such great reward!