May the mumbling commence!
What does it take to have access to the presence of Jesus in the end times? Is it what we have done and not done? You know, does our access to Jesus stand upon the preaching that we have done and the miracles that we have done in the name of Jesus? No! Gaining access is not about what we have done. It is about who we are. It is about being known and knowing. Read from Matthew chapter seven:
"It is not everyone who keeps saying to me 'Lord, Lord' who will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but the man who actually does my Heavenly Father's will.
In 'that day' many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, didn't we preach in your name, didn't we cast out devils in your name, and do many great things in your name?' Then I shall tell them plainly, 'I have never known you. Go away from me, you have worked on the side of evil!'" (Verses 21-23)
If we read the first thought only, we might conclude that entering the kingdom of Heaven is about doing. Entering the kingdom of Heaven is about doing the Lord’s will. Then doing would include preaching and teaching and performing miracles in the name of Jesus, RIGHT?
On this thought alone, I might say, “Yes”. At least until I read the next paragraph I would say, “Yes”. But the next words of Jesus lead us in another way. Even those who rightly proclaim that they have preached and done miracles in Jesus’ name are sent away.
If we preach and teach and do miracles in Jesus’ name just to say that we have done them – to earn brownie points if you will – then we have missed the point. We do God’s will for us; that is good. Yet we must be God’s child first. What we do grows out of who we are. We need to be Christian before we can rightly do Christian.
To be Christian we must pay careful attention to who Christ is and what Christ means for our lives. We must understand the salvation of God through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Our hope relies on faith in this marvelous act alone. This is a part of knowing Jesus.
Another part of knowing Jesus and being known is paying careful attention to the way that Jesus taught and lived his life. Jesus is not only our Savior through his death and resurrection but he is also our role model. We are to do as Jesus does. This doing grows from our being immersed – abiding in the Vine of Christ using the imagery from the gospel according to John – in the life and teachings of Jesus.
Through the teachings and life of Jesus, we see ourselves through Jesus’ eyes. We see who we are and who we have the potential to become. It is in this journey that we learn to know Jesus and that Jesus learns to know us.
It is this depth of knowing that is our way to Jesus at the end of all things.
Pray with me: “I want to know you Jesus. I want to be known and changed by you.”
May it be so.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
No comments:
Post a Comment