Matthew 7:21-23

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'"  Matthew 7:21-23

• Who will enter the kingdom of heaven?

"does" here is the same word we talked about when we said that Jesus would "make" us fishers of men. It means to make, practice, or produce.Those that do the will of the Father, may not have it down pat. But they are practicing producing His will, decisions, and desire.

• Is that on the top of your list each day?  Lord what is your desire? What do you want? How can I practice?

The word "knew" here is important too. It is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word "yada"...and intimate knowledge, really knowing and recognizing. It is much deeper than knowing something/someone exists. Obviously, the Trinity is omniscient. The Triune God knows everyone. But here, Jesus says...those who aren't doing My will, I don't really know them. They don't have a relationship with Me.

Please don't let me confuse you, here. We do not earn our entrance into heaven by the things we do. Our eternity depends on our relationship with Christ. What do we do with Jesus?  But can you imagine, being totally in love and not wanting to ever do the things our lover asks of us?  Our actions show what we believe...what we care about. Do we care about Jesus? Do we love Him? If so, we will do what He desires. There is a big difference between doing religious activity in attempt to earn God's favor and simply honoring Him because we already know He loves us so much. We simply want to love Him back.

Do you have that kind of relationship with Him? If not, please consider e-mailing me. I'd love to talk to you more personally.

Angela

angela@thosewithyoung.com