the basic message # E98
2 Peter 1:10-11
Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
I know hundreds, if not thousands of Christians. Sadly, I find very few who want to make their election sure. They just say, “I’m saved” but never want to pursue a solid answer as to whether they will enter into Heaven. Have you ever had an annual performance review at work? A well-designed performance review takes all factors into consideration. If an employee works hard for 51 weeks and then goofs off and screws-up during week 52, the review should focus on the 51 good weeks and not week 52. Since I serve a fair and loving God, I have faith that the “ultimate performance review” that God conducts will be carried out fairly. Let’s take a look at part of the checklist that Jesus Christ created:
All of the “checklist” items I listed above come from the book of John, chapters 3-8. Some folks will protest that I’m suggesting that we must “do” certain things to go to Heaven. We can get into a battle of semantics, but here’s the bottom line: Anyone who believes they’re a Christian must have an inner desire to please God. Let’s do a little experiment. Select a date for a “typical” day in your future life. On that day, carry a little notepad in your pocket or purse. Every 30 minutes jot down what you have done, whether good or bad. A typical entry might look like this: “Wife told me that the yard looks bad. I told her to clean it up herself if it was such a big deal.” Or hopefully the entry might read like this: “Wife asked me to help clean up the yard. I turned off the ball game and we‘re working together. It’s looking great!” And what, you might ask, is the purpose of this little game? I think you’ll be able to see very quickly whom you serve on a typical day. If your entries are chocked full of hatred and contempt, you might be serving Satan instead of God. “But what if I’m just having a bad day?” No problem, just repeat the exercise as many times as you’d like. You can’t cheat the system- your true character will ultimately be revealed. If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck. If you talk like a Christian, act like a Christian and live like a Christian, you’re probably a Christian.
Back to the review. Make no mistake, friend, we can never be “good enough” for God. We’re sinners by nature, and as long as we’re on this earth we will continue on that path. But! When God looks at our life in review he should see a definite pattern upward. Ever look at a stock market graph? It has its little hills and valleys, and sometimes the valleys are frighteningly deep, but ultimately, the market is always headed skyward. Our lives, though marred by dips and valleys, should also be headed skyward, or should I say, “Heavenward”.