It’s easy to miss the mark in some areas of our lives. My youngest daughter jokes a lot and gets jokes. The other daughter says about one joke a year-and misses everyone’s jokes. While I’m good at funny stuff, I miss lots of points when watching movies. My wife will say, “They’re explaining it RIGHT NOW!” and I’m missing it! One point, however, we can’t afford to miss is that of eternal life. It has nothing to do with religion and everything to do with salvation: Two very different things. Salvation, only God can do. Religion, we do.
And so, there’s a simple reason why some Christ-followers miss the mark in following Jesus. Probably millions of people live by the Gospel According to Me (Religion). It’s not the gospel of following Christ; It’s a gospel where Christ is expected to honor me and my ways. People walk around in lust and expect God to bless their shame. God stipulates holiness but people want sinfulness. God calls for humbleness but man wants extravagance.
God wants man to walk uprightly but man stoops to desires of luxurious cars, yachts, or expensive planes. God wants us to draw near to Him to know the signs of the times, but man wants ridiculously expensive watches to see the time of day. God expects us to be examples to others, but we want others to see us as examples of what we’ve accomplished on our own.
Jesus has covered us with His righteous robe so that when others (the Father included), look at us, they’ll see nothing but Christ’s cloak of righteousness over us. Our sin is hidden from view because we’re now hidden in Him. “For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3).
But when we insist on showing the world our greatness, Christ is hidden, and only we shine. And just like the slip on a woman showing, our “slips” show. Frightful words of Jesus haunt every man who fears Him: But those who don’t, pay no mind. No one wants to imagine hearing Christ’s awful words when we face Him.
Forget a sentence of 25 years to life; On that day, people will realize how long eternity is. Hence, why there shall be hysteria, heart attacks, and utter madness when Christ says to them, “Depart from me thou wicked, I never knew you” And the angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 13:42).
But know, friend, it’s not too late to change! It’ll be too late when you die in your sins. DISMISS the ridiculous false doctrine that others will bail you out of a non-existent Purgatory; the time for repentance is NOW ON EARTH. On that day, you’ll be so thankful, a trillion times thankful that you changed course and accepted Christ into your life NOW. Miss the mark and you’ll miss Christ.
“For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten” (Ecclesiastes 9:5 ESV).
God Bless!
Sam