“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matt. 6:33)
Does a father love the child who could accomplish something, but will not even attempt to do so, who for whatever personal reasons has decided to excel at nothing but his own self-interest for his own enjoyment?
To the child who completes the chores set before him and is rewarded financially for doing so, how does that father respond to the errant son who also wants money but will do nothing to earn it. “Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?” (Matt. 7:9)
This is how most parents I believe envision themselves, and so one of those parents, most likely discretely and without informing the other, will slip that errant child some money. They would call it love and caring, but it is truly no more than enablement, and it is the way the world is heading. “For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.” (Matt. 13:12)
The Lord does not suffer lazy children, they are expected to at least do the least, and even when that is accomplished, they are to call themselves unprofitable. (Luke 17:10) Not everyone who enters the Kingdom of God will receive rewards, not everyone will receive a crown, some will show up empty handed and enter the Kingdom that way. There is no enablement for errant children who will not put forth any effort, and there are many, many more who believe they are indeed children of the Most High who are not. “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?” (Matt. 7:22)
These should be some of the most frightening words to you, for there are no second chances, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” (Heb. 9:27) There are no excuses that will be accepted, but beyond even that, I challenge you to contemplate meeting the Lord Jesus Christ face to face, and not one soul has come to Him because of your inaction, not one deed was done that earned you a reward, you didn’t even know about those five or more crowns, much less how to work for them. You have nothing to cast at His feet.
We are not speaking of our salvation here, that is a free gift of God, (Eph. 2:8-9) what we are discussing is the amount of effort that you spent in this life attempting to bring the Gospel to a lost world, that praise that was not just in your heart but that which passed your lips. We are known by the fruits of the Spirit, (Gal. 5:22-23) but we will be judged by our works. (Rev. 20:12)
It is almost impossible for me to comprehend the existence of a true born-again believer who has no desire to speak of Christ, who does not have a burden in their heart for the lost sinner, who does not speak His name in public, I just can’t seem to envision that person.
I have met those who say that by their lifestyle they represent Christ, but all I see is a good man, a man that is not contentious, who is always polite and kind, one who prides himself on never judging and who most generally would never miss a Sunday morning at church. My friends, hell is full of kind, caring loving people.
I cannot judge in this area, I can only report what I see and have not seen, and many I have met will not spend five minutes at the most discussing on a street corner on a Tuesday afternoon that which they profess to believe each Sunday morning. I have left many a conversation completely bewildered as to how they can profess Christ while never speaking about Him outside of those walls of the place they call a church. Suffice it to say, the child who does well will be rewarded well, the other will not.
