Paul gives us a sobering truth in 2 Co 5:9-10. First we learn it is OK to be ambitious, provided our ambition is to be pleasing to God! "Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him." It's not OK to be ambitious for our own agendas, wants and desires. The only ambition that is acceptable to God is our ambition to please to our heavenly Father. The second sobering truth is that "we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad." Praise God we, HIS children, will not be subject to the Great White Throne Judgement! However, we will face our maker at the judgement seat of Christ...we will stand and give an account to the one with the nail scarred hands, feet and side, to the one who spilled HIS own blood to purchase our salvation.
Mt 16:27 For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.
Ac 10:42 And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead.
Ro 2:16 in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.
Ro 14:10 But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
Ro 14:12 So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.
Eph 6:8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.
I like the way our Pastor has been saying it lately...there are really only two important days, today and that day! Live today in the light of that day.
If you ask a group of followers of Christ what are the words they long to hear from their Lord they will in unison respond with..."well done." This is true in Baptist circles anyway. While I do long to hear those words from my Lord and prayerfully cry out that HIS Holy Spirit would enable me to live in a manner that I might hear those words on THAT day...the Words I really want to hear are "enter into the joy of your master." In general I believe that we are clueless in our knowledge of the "joy of the master." Remember what Paul wrote in 1 Cor 2:9 but just as it is written, “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, And which have not entered the heart of man, All that God has prepared for those who love Him.”
Matt 25:23 ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’
Father in heaven,
By the filling of YOUR Holy Spirit please let my heart be single, create in me a clean heart to know YOU, to love YOU and make pleasing YOU my single ambition. Please work this for YOUR glory and my joy in YOU!
love,
m