“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgement day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’”
Near the end of the sermon on the mount, Jesus makes this statement and I can only imagine the shock that it sent through the crowd. A crowd, who for decades, had been told by the priests and religious-elite that their performance had to be better, they needed to do more. But Jesus calls out the old performance system and warns them to be careful that they don’t fall into a lifestyle that values performance over relationship.
Jesus’s warning ends with him telling the judgement day group that he, “never knew” them. Jesus wasn’t impressed with their good deeds or their Christian behavior; he wanted their hearts, not their works.
“We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags…”
God is not impressed with our goodness. That’s laughable.
Is Steph Curry impressed with my jump shot? No.
Would Lance Armstrong be astonished at how well I can ride a bike? No.
Would Einstein have been inspired by my A+ in high school math? No.
It’s silly to think that God (the only one who is good; Luke 18:19) is impressed with our goodness.
In light of this, we have all the more reason to follow God’s law of relationship, before we try to earn our way into heaven. We need to build the Kingdom, yes. But we need to build our relationship with the Father above and beyond anything else we try to build.
This week, make some extra time to spend with God without an agenda. Don’t sit down with the Father with your to-do list, your requests, or your needs. Sit down with Father God as a son or daughter, and invest in your relationship with Him.