I've always heard, “Live every day as if it were your last.” On the surface, this statement sounds thoughtful, but looking deeper, its foundation is self-centered. Therefore, I'd like to propose another statement that I feel is more in line with God's word:
Live each day as if it were everyone else's last day.
If today was your husband's, you wife's, your children's, your mother's, father's, aunt's, uncle's, or best friend's last day, what would you do differently? What things would be important to you...enough to fight and argue about? What would you say to them and what would you do for them?
I guess before any of us can answer that question, we'd first have to consider, is this person saved? If they are, then I'm sure most of us would quickly humble ourselves and lavish them with the awesome love of Christ as He commanded us to do as His Church. We would quickly throw away any differences, any malice any discourse that might have separated us, and we would sow peace – as much as it is up to us.
“Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss.”
~ 2 Corinthians 13:11-12
“Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”
~ Romans 12:17-18
And if they are not saved, I hope that all of us would spend what time we had left with them, sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Not the watered-down version, but the true Gospel - the way Jesus showed us:
"No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."
~ Luke 13:3
Does everyone who claims to know God, to know Jesus, His Son, enter into Heaven? Will everyone who claims they believe there is a God be accepted by God? Let’s see what Jesus said here in the gospel of Matthew.
" 'Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and cast out demons in Your name, and do many mighty works in Your name?' And then will I declare to them, I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness.' "
~ Matthew 7:21-23
(emphasis added)
In this passage, the word our Lord Jesus uses for “knew” is the Greek word, ginosko which means: to grasp, to test, to recognize intimately; Jewish idiom for sexual intercourse between a man and a woman. As you can see for yourselves, the word our Master and Savior Jesus Christ used for "knew" was not a casual word saying that He was never aware of your existence - He made you, He is God, He is omniscient and has knowledge of all things. Instead, Jesus uses a word, also used to describe sexual intimacy, which we know is often used in the Old Testament in the same manner: Adam knew Eve and she conceived.
Jesus says that if He is not intimately acquainted with; more specifically, made one with a person (He has never known them), then it doesn't matter what they might claim, whether it be "good" works or prayers in "Jesus' name". If we pray or do anything and simply tack on "in Jesus' name" thinking somehow this will magically make us known to Christ, we have deceived ourselves. To pray or do anything in the Name of Jesus means to do it in His character, in His nature: holy, pure, humbly and with agape love. And no mere human can do anything in Jesus Name, without the indwelling power of His Holy Spirit.
The Bible is clear, the only people who can be saved are the ones who confess that they are sinners (because they have broken God’s holy Law [1 John 3:4]); believe they deserve eternal damnation in Hell because of their sins; understand that their sins are an abomination to a holy God and that Christ Jesus is the Son of God: who was born of a virgin, and alone was without sin - perfectly fulfilling the Law; took our shame, our guilt, our condemnation upon Himself when He bore our sins on the Cross; was raised on the Third Day by the power of the Holy Spirit to prove that He alone is God and has the power to defeat sin and it's penalty which is eternal death in the lake of fire.
Is there someone you need to share this with today? Is there someone(s) God is bringing to your mind to prayerfully, humbly and compassionately, with the power from Christ, share the Gospel, so that they might be saved?
Jesus said:
"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but however does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been carried out in God.”
~ John 3:17-21
I am in tears and broken-hearted for those I know who either think they are “good” enough to go to Heaven, or they are religious enough to go to Heaven. Both groups of people, have not yet repented and feel no need to repent because they think, “It’ll be okay. It’ll all work out in the end. When I die, God will understand.” Yes, He will. He will understand that they have rejected Him as their God and His Son, Jesus as their only Savior. And He will judge them by what they have judged themselves – on their own merit; and they will terrified to find out, their “good deeds” in the sight of God were only filthy rags, and have disqualified them for the inheritance with all the saints in light.
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith.”
~ Romans 3:23-25a
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
~ Ephesians 2:8-9
(emphasis added)
How about you? Will you choose to live this day and every day, from now on, as if it were your loved ones’ last day?
Lord God in Heaven, hallowed by Your holy Name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Purify us Lord, with Your word. Cleanse us of whatever we are holding on to that makes us comfortable, yet grieves Your Spirit that lives within us. Let us cast all our differences with one another aside as we strive to love You first, with all our hearts, souls, minds and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Oh gracious Father God, forgive us for looking too long in our mirrors that only reflect our flesh and not Your glory. May our love for You be demonstrated not with mere words and tongue, but in actions and in truth. May Christ Jesus our Lord be glorified because of our love for one another.
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