However, a few weeks back a phrase/verse in the Bible really struck me as completely pivotal to what we, as Christians, should strive for as our overall goal in life - the "big picture" so to speak. It's Matthew 25:21: 21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’.
While utilizing WWJD is useful in helping us make daily decisions, we should be pondering the bigger questions, actions, decisions, and plans with the goal of hearing those words "Well done good and faithful servant!" on the day of our passing from this world.
I'm not asking whether you will get to heaven or not. If you've accepted the sacrifice of Jesus and have repented from your sins then the answer is yes. But when you get to heaven, and God looks at your life, what would you expect Him to say, based on how you lived it? Will He maybe mumble and say "Fine, you made it. Come on in" with little to no enthusiasm? Or would He and a host of angels proclaim "Well Done Good and Faithful Servant! You lived a life worth celebrating. One that did much good in the world. One that proclaimed, celebrated, praised, and spread my name to all who knew you. You didn't just live as a person who calls him/herself a Christian when asked about it. You lived in a way that all who knew you, and even many who didn't, knew what you represented - ME! To sum it up, you made Me (God) proud. Well done indeed."
I wish I could say with confidence that the latter would be true of me, but at this point in time I don't really think that would be the case. But I want to have this idea at the forefront of my mind on a daily basis, to pursue things, actions, decisions, relationships that would lead to this eventual proclamation when I die.
In the spirit (and popularity) of WWJD, perhaps it would also be a good idea to come up with an acronym to make it more catchy and memorable. The best choices I can come up with are these:
- WDGaFS
- WeDoGaFaSe (probably too long)
- WeDGaFS
- Wedgafs
Also, what would your answer be to that question, if you were to ask yourself "Is the way I'm living, the choices I'm making, the way I'm spending my time, the way I interact with others, the way I stand up for my faith, the passion in which I pursue my God, are these things done in a way such that I would expect to hear that phrase (WELL DONE...!)?" Any feedback is welcome.
3 comments:
Great post Mike, I too often wonder too how God will respond to the life I have lived. I would honestly be a little worried if I, or anyone I know, could honestly say that they have done all they can as that might be a little short sighted. I don't think I will ever be able to feel as though I have done all that I could have. All I can hope for is that I have given an honest effort and that through Jesus' gift to us of salvation our active acts of repentance and the confirmation of the Holy Ghost that what we are doing is right that we will receive the precious gift of forgiveness from God.
I had a great discussion several years ago with someone who put something in perspective that I had never considered before. When we ask for forgiveness and repent, God actively forgets the sin. What that means is he actually doesn't remember it. I pondered that for a bit and wished we could do that as humans. While we can forgive, no matter how hard we try or how effective we are at it, we will still have a memory, with God that simply isn't so, if we repent, it is gone. The gift of salvation and repentance from our Savior, Jesus Christ, is truly an amazing one I am humbled by and struggle to feel worthy of almost daily.
as for an acronym suggestion, sorry bro, I have no good input for that.
Thanks for the post Mike.
This was a great post Mike and gave me a lot to think about. I would like to point out as well that we have God's grace. As well as his forgiveness and mercy. His unconditional love goes beyond our understanding. I think he looks down at us at different points of our lives and has probably said at least once to all of us "Well done good and faithful servent." Our goal in life is to do something everyday of our lifes to make him say this on a daily basis and not just once or a few times in a lifetime! As doe an acronym I would say WDGFS.
Thank you both for your thoughtful comments.
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