Depart From Me, I Never Knew You.......

When reading Matthew 7 today, I got hung up on verses 21-23.  "Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father Who is in heaven.  Many will say to Me on that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name and driven out demons in Your name and done many mighty works in Your name?  And then I will say to them openly, I never knew you: depart from me, you who act wickedly."

As I pondered these verses, I wondered who would be those that would be sent away into eternal darkness and suffering.  It appears from the verses that these people thought they were saved and went about doing what they thought was good in the name of Jesus. As I meditated on the Word, I realized that many think they are saved but are basing it on a religious act .... such as the sinners prayer...or baptism....or simply good works.  They never really surrendered their whole heart to Jesus and willed to do His will.  The Bible tells us that Jesus said "follow me".  I know some people personally who say they are saved but there is NOTHING in their life that would confirm that and it is apparent that they are not following Christ.  The Word of God tells us that we are known by our fruit.  We must examine our own lives often and see if we measure up to His standards.  So many times we think we're not so bad...or at least we aren't as bad as so-n-so.  When we compare ourselves to others we can make ourselves feel better. The trouble is that there is only one standard we should be concerned with and that is the standard Christ set before us.

We regularly go to the doctor for a physical "check-up", but  how often do we take time for a spiritual examination?  We should be ever growing in our spiritual walk with the Lord.  Our desire should be to please him...."more of You, Lord, and less of me"... should be our cry.