The Spiritual World: Talks for Children by George de Charms

16.  Uses in Heaven

Every angel of heaven is given by the Lord some work to do - a work which no other angel can do in the same way; a work for which that angel has been prepared all through his or her life in the world. John, when he was on the Isle of Patmos, said: "I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, - Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth; yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them."

Here it is declared that those who go to the other world - if they come eventually into heaven - will rest from their labors. And because of this many people have supposed that heaven was a place where you would have no work to do. To some of you a place where you would have no work to do would seem like heaven. You might think that there you could be happy. Indeed, work, at times, appears to you to be the one. thing that interferes with your happiness. You would like to play all the time. And when you are asked to go on an errand, or to help at home, or to study your lessons for school, you feel unhappy. You hurry and try to get through just as quickly as possible, so that you can go back to your play. What you are doing sometimes seems very hard. It makes you tired and weary. And this you call work; and you feel that if only you had no work to do you would always be happy.

But still, when you say you do not want to work you do not mean that you wish to be idle. Idleness also makes you unhappy. When you have nothing to do you become restless and fretful, and you look around and try to find something to amuse you. And when you have found something, you become interested in it, and at once you forget yourself and you begin to feel happy. Yet in this play you may really work very hard. You may run until you are almost out of breath. You may lift heavy things in building a snow fort, for instance, you may dig, and lift and carry, and pack until your muscles ache, and you have to stop to rest.

Now, what is the difference between "play" and "work?"

If you will think about it for a moment, you will see that you call work that which you do not like to do; and you call play that which gives you pleasure and delight in doing it. Both of them are work. But one is work which, because you love it, makes you forget yourself - forget time, forget whether or not you are tired - and you center all your interest in doing the thing. Such work as this is fun. In doing it you are really happy. The other kind is work, which, because you do not love it, makes you think of yourself - of how long it will be before you have finished it; of how hard the task is, and how tired you are. Such work is not fun, and in doing it you are unhappy.

Now the work that the angels are given to do for the Lord is work that they love. They love it so much that they would rather do that than anything else. They do not want to stop it. They do stop from time to time, and rest. And this rest they enjoy; but they look forward to the time when they may return to their work, because in this is their real happiness.

So when the voice from heaven said that those who die in the Lord would "rest from their labors", it did not mean that those in the other world are idle; or that they have no work to do. Idleness is not tolerated anywhere in the other world - neither in heaven nor in hell. No angel or spirit can live unless he does some work and performs some use. But the evil spirits do not like to perform any use. Their love is to destroy, and to break down, and to cause others to be unhappy - while every use builds up, and brings happiness to others. This they do not I like. But still they are forced to work. If they remain idle and refuse to work, they are given no food, no clothing, and no house to live in. And in order to live they must work. But they do it grudgingly, and with resentment in their heart; they long to get away from it, do as little as possible, and take no interest in doing their appointed task well. Such work is real labor. It causes them suffering, and pain, and distress of mind and body.

Much of the work that we do on earth is of the same character. We have much that is evil in us, and the Lord has to govern us even as He governs the hells. Very few people would ever learn to work if they did not have to. Nearly all would prefer to remain idle - if they were permitted to do so. This is because of the evil spirits who are with them - spirits that inspire into them the selfishness of hell, and cause them to resent all work that will be of benefit and use to others, caring only for that which is gratifying to themselves. And so much of the work that we are called upon to do on earth is hard labor. We are compelled to do it because we could not live without it. We would have no money with which to buy food or clothing, shelter, or other things that we need very much and want for ourselves. This the Lord provides in order that we may have to work, and so may learn at last to love to perform a use.

We cannot perform a real use - either in this world or in the other world - without learning many things. All your training while you are children is for the purpose of giving you the knowledge, and the ability that will enable you - when you grow up - to be of real use in the world, to perform some work here of service to your country, and to other men, and that will prepare you to fulfill some everlasting use in heaven, after death. By nature you do not like to work; and so at first it seems like hard labor, and you have to force yourselves against your will to do many things that you do not love to do. But as you grow older - if you are really preparing for heaven - you will learn to love to serve others, and in this you will find your real happiness. Then your work will cease to be labor. It will begin to be fun. You will begin to find play in your work, so that you no longer want to get away from it, but find genuine enjoyment in it.

This is the state in which the angels are. And so it is said, "They shall rest from their labors, and their works do follow them." They no longer have to do many things that are irksome, tedious, and unpleasant. They no longer are compelled to do work that they dislike. They come into the use that they love the most, and in doing this they are blessed with joy and happiness such as no one on earth can possibly know. Their joy and their happiness is derived from this - that they are allowed to do something which is of real service to their neighbor, and to the Lord, whom they love above all things.

Lesson: Revelation 14: 13-20

Home

• Back • Home • Up •