Many redeemed will coil with regret and shame...
This is a text that for 2 days now has stuck with me. There is something deeply profound in the account that those who were just seeing Gods grace and mercy for the first time in such a way were overwhelmed with joy. Now free, going to the sacred land they have heard about for so long, and seeing the alter of God prepared to receive their praise they shout to the Lord! But for those who carry the guilt of having been party to the forsaking and rejecting of the Lord, or been part of the sin and compromise that lead to the captivity... Their joy is also mixed with deep regret, shame and sorrow. Yes they too are now free and experiencing perhaps even more amazing grace than the former, but thoughts plague them... This alter is not what it was, and not what it could be if it weren't for my sin. God is merciful, his Love endures forever indeed! But woe to me, if only I... Or, I should have.... Or, I wish I didn't........
1Corinthians 3:13-15 comes to mind so strongly, on the day of judgement dear Christian will we enter the kingdom with little reward? With the sorrow and shame of a life lived ( yes on the saving foundation of Christ,) but built with straw, wood, and sticks? Will we be able to say on that day, Jesus because of what you did, I gave all I had... I fought the good fight, I strove for humility, mortified my sin, and died to self with violence! (Matthew 11:12).
How many of us never think heavenward and strive for heavenly rewards? How many of us never consider, or worse take Gods grace for granted, the consequences of ignoring any of the good works God has prepared for us in advance to do? We are assigned in this life a place in the vineyard, given "talents" to steward over and will give an accounting one day for them. To him who is faithful much will be given. But to him who is faithful little receives little... And remember that third proved he was worthy only of destruction.
Jesus spoke much of rewards in heaven, do we care? Or do we ignorantly presume the shame of a life poorly lived for Christ will soon be forgotten amidst the bliss of heaven?
What are you striving for?
Created almost 2 years ago
