Making the Grade

September 16^th, 2007

AAAHHH!!! Sunday, what will I do with myself? After church, I am going to do homework, homework, homework… and maybe watch a little football. But my focus will be on homework, since I am GROSSLY behind right now.

Making the Grade

Luke 13:22-30

Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?”

He said to them, “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’

“But he will answer, ‘I don't know you or where you come from.’

“Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’

“But he will reply, ‘I don't know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’

“There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.”

It says to “make every effort”. Am I doing that? Are you? I can’t speak for you, only you can do that, but I would have to say, for me, that I am not. I would like to say that I am, but the fact remains, I am not making every effort.

I watched a movie last week with my wife called “Dead Again” which, to be honest, is an OK movie. I didn’t care for Robin Williams’ character since he had a really bad mouth on him, but he did say something that caught my ear. He said (and this is not an exact quote) that those who try are afraid of commitment. Those who do things are not afraid of commitment. This was during a conversation about a guy who said he is “trying to quit smoking.”

That had brought up questions in my mind. Actually, it has brought up a lot of questions in my mind, since the observation about trying is on the money. Am I putting in the appropriate effort in my walk with God? Am I trying to follow God or am I following God? People who try to follow God are going to be the ones who do not get through the gate. Those who ARE following God may make mistakes, but they repent along the way and get through the gate. There is a difference. There is an effort by the ones who do versus the ones who try. God wants me to do things, not simply try.

What separates the person that God knows versus the person God doesn’t know? Well, I can look at it this way, what separates a person that I know from a person I do not know? A person I know, I spend time with. A person I don’t know, I do not spend time with. A person I do not know, I can’t think of anything I would buy for them, because I do not know what they like and dislike. A person I do not know, I can’t think of their favorite color, birthday, or what clothing they prefer. I do not know what they are allergic to or what type of candy bar they like. A person I do not know does not spend time with me, so there is no way of knowing what makes up the person’s character, whether they like to laugh a lot or prefer to be on a more serious tone. And if a person doesn’t spend time with God, how can he (God) “know” him (the person) either. After all, God does want time spent with him.

Make Every Effort (verb):

Agōnizomai (ag-o-nid'-zom-ahee)

• To enter a contest: contend in the gymnastic games
• To contend with adversaries, fight
• Metaphorically to contend, struggle, with difficulties and dangers
• To endeavor with strenuous zeal, strive: to obtain something
• To struggle, literally (to compete for a prize), figuratively (to contend with an adversary), or generally (to endeavor to accomplish something): - fight, labor fervently, strive.

To make every effort means that there is a lot of work involved. I have to fight. I have to train. I have to be prepared for difficulties and dangers that may lie ahead. And I have to accomplish something. There has to be fruits of the labor. And if I ask myself if I have faced these lately and accomplished things, I am not exactly sure how the answer would be… maybe full of excuses? Could I answer that with a positive response? No, not really. I’ve had some flares of positive things, but overall, there is a HUGE gap for improvement. I am looking forward to the repentance. Johnny Out.