Monday, December 7, 2015
Because we’re human, we all wonder from time to time, how many of those we see serving the Lord are “faking it”, and how many are doing it with a sincere heart. We may think of it when we see sports stars or celebrities who publicly acknowledge God or praise Jesus, or when we hear or see radio and TV preachers, or even when we hear someone preach, teach, play or sing for the Lord in church. I sometimes wonder if some people think I’m among the fakers. Nevertheless, as the Lord has had to remind me several times, I’ll remind you as well: That is God’s business, not ours! It will be God who will one day separate the sheep from the goats. (See Matthew 25:32-33) He will one day reveal those who were truly His and those who were not, welcoming some into His eternal joy, and to others who many of us thought were the real deal, saying “Depart from me, I never knew you.” (See Mt. 7:22-23)
As far as God’s children are concerned, we will all have our day when we stand before the Lord to give an account for our lives. Thanks be to God, however, that it will not be for the purpose of determining if we get into Heaven or not. That issue was settled for us on the day we invited Jesus into our heart. As I have told you often, we are not saved by what we do or have done, but by what Jesus did. Works is another matter. For the things we did as Christians and the reasons we did them, for that we will have to give an account to Christ when we stand before Him. There, our works will be tried by fire. There, we will know how many of our accomplishments in His service were accepted and how many were not. Writing about this matter, Paul said: “If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned , he shall suffer loss : but he himself shall be saved ; yet so as by fire.” (1 Corinthians 3:14-15 KJV)
The Lord, and probably us too, knows when we serve Him with a sincere and thankful heart and when we don’t. He also knows if and when we do things in His name to get attention or draw praise for ourselves. Let’s be honest here: There are times when we do things because we want to be loved and appreciated. After all, it is a human tendency. The Lord will not come down on us when we do, but these works won’t stand up to the test. In closing, I know that, because the old person still lives within us, we will all continue to entertain varying thoughts about those who do things for God. Nevertheless, we can ask the Lord to help us when we do, asking Him to also remind us continually that it is not our business, but His. Besides, we all have better things to do than playing this silly little game.
Memory Verse for the week: (Romans 14:4) “Who are you (we) to judge someone else's servant? To his own Master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.”
