Access Denied

S - "“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. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’" (Matthew 7:21-23 ESV)

O - Most likely no one is surprised to hear Jesus talking about entrance requirements into the Kingdom that never ends.  The qualifier he identifies is available to all and is described as doing the will of my Father who is in heaven. The surprise is what won't work as a part of this entry qualifier. The things that won't satisfy the requirement include:

·         Correctly identifying Jesus as Lord.

·         Accurately speaking (prophesying) in Jesus' name.

·         Pushing back evil (casting out demons) in Jesus' name.

·         Blessing others (doing many mighty works) in Jesus' name.

Not only do these not make the grade as doing the will of the Father, Jesus will go on to identify them as works of lawlessness or iniquity.  Seriously?  If these things aren't the will of the Father then what are?  While all these activities appear to be in line with God's will on earth, and even when these activities bless others which heaven likes, there is an essential which makes and confirms them as the God's will and confirmation of our entry into the Kingdom.  The essential?  Love. God is love and his kingdom is a kingdom of love.  All of the cited activities can be (and have been) done without love; but the will of the Father cannot be done without love.  It is the greatest commandment (Matthew 22; Luke 10; Mark 12) and without love Scripture confirms all such actions end in nothing (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).

A - Culture (personal, secular and religious) is focused on what is seen while the Father and his kingdom focus on what is unseen.  Culture is about doing something to be someone where the kingdom is about being and all doing flowing from that.  Jesus calls me/us to himself and to his Father according to love.  From being loved and in love the doing takes on more significance than meets the eye.  It becomes rife with his relentless love and irrepressible life.  Today I intend to engage him, his will and this earth according to love.

P - God who is love,

Thank you for today and for having a will on earth which includes all 7.2 billion of my fellow earthlings.  I admit my need of your love so that I can really love.  You have loved me/us first, most and refuse to change your mind.  I do love you back and will rely on the love you have for me and us all to enable me to do your will on earth like they do in heaven … according to love.

In Jesus,

Steve