Not Tallied

“For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity.” 2 Timothy 1:6-9 NASB

I can’t imagine anything more terrifying and awful than standing before God Jesus Christ Holy Spirit and thinking that you are good with Him, and having Him look you in the eyes and say, “I never knew you. You are a stranger to me. Get out of my presence. Depart from me.”

And what’s the difference here between someone who thinks they are good with Jesus, and someone who is good with Jesus? How do we know that He actually knows us?

It’s by our fruit. Not our public persona, our ministry acolades, but the fruit of who we are when nobody is looking.  And this standard—this standard of doing God’s will, of not being lawless—is what Jesus teaches.

He doesn’t add up how many good sermons we've preached or listened to if our hearts are full of anger and hatred and vengeance. Jesus doesn’t care how much money we've given away if we have eyes and a heart full of lust and adultery. Jesus doesn’t count how many Sundays we've sat in church if we have lips which don’t speak Jesus the rest of the week. Jesus doesn’t care how many Sunday school classes we've taught or how many volunteer hours we've given if we hate our enemies.

And once again, Holy Spirit is reminding us that there are only two possible outcomes in response to the message of the Gospel.  We will either go through the narrow gate or the broad gate. We will either go down the hard path to life eternal or the broad path to destruction. We will either follow the masses to the rock star stadium or turn away from the artifical light towards the clean cool light of the living water… We will either be a healthy tree bearing good fruit or we will be a diseased tree bearing bad fruit. We will either do the will of our Father in heaven or we will be a worker of lawlessness.