Are we doing enough for God?

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.  All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.  He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.  “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’  “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’  “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’  “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.  For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’  “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’  “He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’  “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

(Matthew 25:31-46 NIV)

 I just woke up from this dream I had.  I dreamt I was living in the end of time; the earth was being swallowed up and every person that was living on the face of this earth had died.  Therefore, every person entered into the presence of Jesus for their judgment.  Throughout my entire time in the “judgment room” in the dream, I had this nagging feeling.  I could not get rid of this feeling, no matter whom I talked to in the waiting to see my fate. 

Finally it was my turn to see Jesus in this public judgment room.  Even though Jesus did not say a single thing, I knew what this nagging feeling I had felt: I was not doing enough for Jesus.  Both Jesus and I knew it and there was no use in denying this lack of work for Jesus.  I finally yelled out to Jesus: “JESUS FORGIVE ME!”  I knew I had done wrong with my time on earth.  I was not always faithful to Jesus and it came to light at the judgment seat of God.  But with a gentle voice Jesus spoke to me: “Chris, I have forgiven you.”

I immediately woke up feeling convicted. I have not done enough for Jesus.  There were times when I had not cared for the poor, loved my family, loved my enemy, or even loved my own brother and sister in Christ.  There were times when I did not help out in the needs of others as I went on my own selfish way.  There have been times when I decided to play video games rather than spend time with the lonely.  I have been a selfish Christian.  At times I have proclaimed I am a Christian in word only yet in deed, which is by loving others, I had majorly faltered.

Let me ask you in the blogiverse (blog universe), what have you been doing for Jesus?  Have you been helping out those around you or have you been selfish in your time and not helped out the lonely, poor and sick?  Have you decided to watch too much television instead of going to see the elderly in your town?  Have you decided to spend too much time on the internet instead of visiting your relatives in the hospital?  Have you decided to seek your own amusement rather than tell people of your relationship with Jesus?

Now, I am not saying watching television or surfing the net or being entertained is wrong; but it is wrong when we put those things above serving Jesus through serving the lonely, poor and sick.  If you, like me, have noticed you have not been perfect in serving Jesus, confess it.  God will forgive it.  As 1 John 1:9 clearly says, if you confess your sins (not being perfect in serving Jesus), God will forgive you and cleanse you from all wrongdoing.  But, let’s not stay there.  Move on and start serving Jesus, which is by serving the poor, lonely and sick.

Let me get deeper.  Do you even have a relationship with Jesus in the first place?  The only way to be forgiven by God at the judgment seat is to be forgiven here on earth.  One cannot be forgiven on the spot when we die; rather one is forgiven here on earth.  We cannot have second chances and we cannot “strike a deal” with God, as it will be too late.  Fate will be decided.  To be forgiven we need to be a believer in Jesus.  What I mean to be a believer in Jesus is that we 1) confess/turn away from our sins 2) believe that Jesus came to die on the cross for our sins 3) believe that Jesus arose from the grave from God the Father’s power.  As Romans 10:9-10 clearly says:

That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. (NIV)

 When we truly do all three of these things, we will begin a relationship with Jesus.  When we commit to turn away from our sins, we are telling Jesus that we are willing to go away from our lives of sin and go after the life of Jesus.  We are, literally, trying to be “followers of Jesus.” 

 To be a Christian is not just lip service but to truly believe them in the deepest parts of your soul.  If you truly believe the three things just mentioned above, we will begin to be changed by God’s Spirit in us.  When we are changed by God’s Spirit (by the way, no one is completely changed as we all are sinners), we will not want to serve our own mission but rather Jesus’ mission, which is to love the poor, sick and lonely.