Matthew 7:21 says “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” This verse has always really confused me as a Christian. I thought it was simple, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” Easy, free, instant. But in his most famous sermon, perhaps the most famous sermon ever, Jesus himself tells us that there are some people who call upon him as Lord who will not inherit eternal life. Furthermore, as the next verse tells us, these people had even done “many mighty works” in Jesus’ name, things greater than I have seen in my life. If they don’t get into heaven, then how the heck can I? But in his response, Jesus tells us the secret. He says “I never knew you, depart from me you workers of lawlessness.”
I don’t know about you, but to me that sounds pretty harsh. But as it usually goes, Jesus’ harshest words go hand in hand with his incredible grace. For years and years of my life, I always did the Christian things. I went to church, I preached at my school, I led worship in my youth groups, I memorized scripture. Furthermore, I tried to avoid the big sins: no sex, no drugs, no swearing. That’s what a Christian does right? That’s who a Christian is right? But there is a problem with this. My ‘faith’ was based entirely on what I could do, what I could manage on my own strength. But Jesus shows us in this passage that it’s not about doing. It’s about relationship. He wants simply to know us.
These past few months have allowed me to pursue this crazy thing for the first time. It has been a painful journey, and I know that there is more to come, but God is radically changing my life through these ideas. I have had to tear down a lot of walls in my faith that have kept me from the Lord, but I have learned a lot and am eager to share. So, for the next few weeks I’m gonna do weekly blogs on different parts of my life that contribute to my relationship with the Lord, so that hopefully I can reach people who are like me.
The main message of it all is this: Jesus wants all of you, and he wants you to have all of him. There is no shortcut, there is no easy path. He tells us that the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life (Matthrew 7). He wants you to do every moment of your life with him, and he wants every single part of life, dirty or clean. But I promise, and I’m still learning this, that any sacrifice you make for the Lord is not a sacrifice at all. If you give anything up for him, you will be gaining far more than you can imagine (Philippians 3). He is good, better than you can imagine. And his simple invitation “Follow me” is the most beautiful command in the world.
On another note, thanks to all of your incredible generosity, I have under $1000 left to raise! Praise the Lamb! Thank you. Let’s finish this thing out. Also if you want to see more of the practical side of my life here in Ethiopia, be sure to check out my teammates’ blogs.
Peace and Blessings
