~ Well Done!~

These are words I long to hear at the end of my life when I meet Jesus and stand before God...

"Well done, good and faithful servant!"


Lets live our lives for God, not based on works, but based on wanting to fulfill the great commission.  The call from Jesus for us to go into the world spreading his message and teachings. This can be  in many ways these days. Most common would be missions throughout the world but also right in our own communities, families and circle of friends. 

When you simply "work" for God you are just trying to win your salvation through working for Him. If you do this, you think that by doing more for God you will earn your salvation and place in Heaven. This is not how salvation works though. We are taught in His Holy Word that our salvation was bought and paid for by Christ Jesus' death on the cross and His resurrection. 

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--"

and

"God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God."

This shows us that we cannot do anything to gain our salvation. When we believed in Jesus, in God, that is when we were /are saved. We cannot take any credit for our salvation by working for it. It is a beautiful gift from God to us! What a loving God we have! He  gives us the most important gift of our lives.

With that said, does this  mean we are not to  "work" or serve the Lord at all? I think this can be a confusing message for some. It was for me. To learn the difference between serving God (with the intention of hoping you will be earning your salvation as a reward) and serving God out of love and just a part of living a life of faith. James (the brother of Jesus) reminds us of this difference and that working for and serving God is a part  of our journey of faith.

"So you see, faith by itself isn't enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless."~James 2:17

and

"In the same way, faith by itself is dead if it doesn't cause you to do any good things"

Can we work for our salvation? No. It is a gift given  to us by God. But, should we sit around and do nothing and simply say "well, I believe in Jesus so I'm saved so that is enough". No, not according to James. Faith alone, is DEAD without good deads or actions. Good dead & actions go hand in hand with Faith. It is not wrong to serve the Lord in any way He calls you or that you feel led too! Actually, serving and working for the Lord is a part of having faith. You can't just sit back and do nothing and say you believe but yet you show no desire to serve others and the Lord. For James says that faith alone is Dead.

Don't shy away from service because you are afraid you will appear to others like you are trying to work for your salvation ...or you are afraid you will be trying to earn your way to Heaven. God knows your heart. That is all that should matter to you.  What God knows and see's in you. He will know why you are doing something. He will know if you are just trying to earn salvation or if you are serving out of true love for Him and others.

My heart is burdened for the needy, for the poor, for those less and for missions. More and more, I have an increasing desire to serve in some way. I can only imagine this is a result of my belief and faith in Jesus. As we die to our selves a little more each day, we will be filled more and more with Jesus. And if you are truly filled with Jesus, you will begin to have a desire to serve others in some way (and there are many ways!). When Jesus walked this earth, He did not need to work and earn his salvation~He is God! But did He then sit back and watch others do it and do nothing? Absolutely not. He was the one out there, going days without food or drink or anywhere to rest His head. He was the one teaching and loving and serving. Washing His disciples feet when they should be washing His!

Lets work for God because we LOVE Him and we love others. And if you don't feel the urge to serve yet, keep laying down your life and asking God to fill you with Jesus more and more. Ask Him to give you a serving heart and a burden for others. In time, you will start to desire these things. For God will make your desires and His desires one.

At the end of our lives, when we meet Jesus and stand before God....what do you want to hear Him say to you? Maybe many many things! I know one thing I hope to hear is "Well done my child! You had faith, belief, love and you served my children."  That would be the greatest gift, to hear God say to me. What do you want God to say to you? 

Love In Yeshua,

~M~