Men's Group this morning was especially probing and thought provoking. We've been doing The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. One of the truths discussed this morning was the fact that Knowing Your Purpose Prepares You for Eternity. We were all confronted with the FACT that we aren't born into the human family to pursue our own interests -- or to be remembered for some great deed done. We were put here to prepare for eternity. One of these days we will stand before our Maker as He audits the books of our life -- as Rick puts it gives us "our final exam!" Paul writes "Remember, each of us will stand personally before the judgment seat of God... Yes, each of us will have to give a personal account to God." Romans 14:10b, 12 (NLT). It's good to remember that God's heart is for us! We are His inheritance and He wants us to come through with flying colors -- so He's given us an "open book" test -- and insight to the questions that He might pose at judgment. From the Word of God we can be sure of perhaps the two most important questions he will ask:
First, "What did you do with Jesus, the Son of God?" We might have anticipated that God would ask about our denominational affiliation or about the preservation of our particularly favorite doctrines. But the Only thing that will matter then is -- "what did you do about Jesus? Did you trust Him and believe in Him for your salvation?"
Second, and this question seems to join effortlessly with the first -- "What did you do with what I gave you?" Since we've begun the "Parables" series, it rings loud and clear in my spiritual ears--"What did you do with what I gave you? What about your marriage, your family, your children? How about your job, your influence, your testimony? What did you do with your time and resources?" There's a couple of biggies! Huh?
Jesus said "Some seed fell on good ground. That is the man or woman who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown." Mt. 13:23b (NIV). Well, how are we faring? Is the seed scattered in your live taking root and will it produce a harvest for the Kingdom of God? I have to ask myself that question over and over again, allowing the Holy Spirit to re-direct my efforts, my time allotment and most importantly my heart! If I don't miss my guess -- there are a whole bunch of "100 's" out there in cyber-space!
