Heaven on Earth?

I am still reading through Randy Alcorn's 50 Days of Heaven devotional. This morning's reading was talking about our role in heaven as rulers. He keyed in on our service as a reward in heaven and how our service here on earth affects that.

Two things gripped me as I read through the scriptures and devotion.

1. How much do I teach this concept to my children? Do I reward their joyful obedience with responsibility or with ease? Am I preparing them for heaven or laziness? (I could expound on this, but I will refrain for now.)
2. Randy Alcorn counts stay-at-home moms as part of the "meek and humble".

I don't consider myself very meek and humble. In fact I am a rather proud and confident person. But as I thought this through I realized what Mr. Alcorn meant. He was talking of lowly, seemingly unrewarding jobs.

Motherhood can be a drudgery sometimes. It can make me want to take a vacation from it all. There are times I don't want to do the work well or with a happy heart. There are also times where I don't trust God to help me accomplish these tasks, so I shouldn't expect him to give me strength or more work.

If I want this "job" to be a picture of heaven on earth I must do it with joy in service to my family and to the best of my ability. Where the reward comes in is when I accomplish these tasks God gives me more responsibilities and challenges (IE. organization issues, emotional educating of growing children, financial changes).

As a summary here is a statement from Randy Alcorn:

"Some think that faithful work should be rewarded by a vacation for the rest of our lives. But God offers us something different: more work, more responsibilities, and increased opportunities along with greater abilities, resources, wisdom, and empowerment (sharp minds, strong bodies, clear purpose, and unabated joy)."

I desire to taste that here on earth. That is my prayer for myself and all other moms that I meet.