When we stand before the Lord Jesus most men will feel regret. There was something they could have done but did not. Or there are things they should not have done but did.
I think about my own life and I can pinpoint a few of both. I suspect every Christian can also find a few. Not a one of us who reads this is yet perfected.
Now here’s the obvious question, but I’ll ask just the same. If we know there will be regret, why aren’t we doing something about it now?
Isn’t that a curious quandary?
A man came up with a magnificent idea to make himself a fortune. The potential of his idea was $500 million in 3 years. What he planned to do was a sure thing. There was no such item on the market. All he needed was 1 million dollars to get started.
His credit was good. And he had plenty of collateral. So he gathered his papers and headed to the bank.
The banker ushered him into his office. It was a plush office but was in need of some janitorial services.
The man presented his request to the banker and showed him the papers. To his pleasure, the banker smiled and seemed very interested. After about 20 minutes of study the banker looked up and gave him a broad smile.
“I need to go and take care of something but I’ll be right back.” Said the banker. “In the meantime, could you do me a favor and dust my office.I feel bad asking such a man as yourself to do such meanial work. But as you can tell there is no one here to do these things for me. I would greatly appreciate your help. And what I must go do will take about 15 minutes.” With that, the banker simply left his office.
The man had smiled and said yes, just before the banker left. He thought to himself that such and gracious work would surely secure the loan. So he grabbed the duster and went about a quick business.
The banker came back in and took a very short look around before he sat down. “How is your wife and children?” The banker asked. “I would like to come in see them if I can.”
The man was taken back by the request. But he replied it would be good to have dinner together. So without making a judgement on the loan the banker shook his hand and they set a time.
At the appropriate time the banker showed up for the dinner. He took note of how the yard was kept. He noticed the disrepair of the house. And when invited in he took very careful note of the state of the interior.
After a pleasant dinner and a chat with some rather rebellious children, the banker thanked the family for the meal, set a date and time to meet again regarding the loan, and when his way.
The man was perfectly pleased thinking he had done the very best possible that he could. He told his wife and children they would soon be rich. And they all went joyously to sleep.
At the time of meeting, the banker handed the man a folder. The first page shook the man’s nerves to the bone. The loan was stamped “DENIED”.
Visibly shaken, the man asked the banker why. “I have done everything you’ve asked! I cleaned your office for you! I even invited you to my home and gave you a wonderful meal! But you have denied me and I need to know why.”
The banker held up his hand and calmed the man down.
“Let me reason with you for a moment. Look around you. Do you see the streaks of dust you missed? When I came to your house your yard was quite unkept. Your house is in dire need of repair.
The meal itself was good and I thank you for it. Your wife is a generous and good cook. But your children are unruly. And you make no attempt to control them.
I am about to loan you a million dollars plus interest. Don’t you think I have a right to know the caliber of a man before I give him such a large amount?”
The man had nothing to say. After exchanging pleasantries and a handshake he simply left with half a tear in his eye. On the way home he had plenty of time to ponder how he would break this news to his family.
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If a man is not in control of his own wealth, who will give him more? If he is not diligent with the wealth of others, who will grant him a wealth of his own?
The body is our gift from God. This is a wealth granted to us to display our intent for eternity. If we do not use it for holy purposes, how can we expect God to grant us wonderous things?
As a man dies so is he sealed. The greedy and the unholy cannot expect a warm welcome.
Let us encourage one another to do far more and better. We do not approach a banker for a mere million dollars. We ask for royalty for eternity. And God does not come over for dinner. He clearly sees the disrepair of our life without invitation.
It’s been spring for a while. As has become my habit, I wax my truck three or four layers deep. It produces a beautiful shine. It is noticeable from a long distance off.
As I drive down the road, I am prone to notice the cars that are not waxed. I even pass the time by guessing which one is clean and which one is waxed. I confess there is not a lot of difference between a clean car and one that is waxed with a single coat. But let someone apply two or three coats of wax and there is a startling difference.
Now the question here is: do I notice these things because I wax my truck, or do I notice these things because they are apparent? I suspect it is a measure of both. In the one, I am looking. In the other, it is obvious.
Who can help but notice the sun shining off an object in front of them? A fully unexpected place to find the Sun . But when someone notices they remember the look of their own. And they take mental note that this is something they would like to do also.
Isn’t the same thing true with righteousness in Christ? Someone gets their act together by worshipping the living God in Christ Jesus. As they live their life, the righteousness of Christ shines through them. A fully unexpected place to find the living God.
They live their days looking at others to see if they have appropriated the righteousness of God. It becomes almost a hobby.
They see some forms of righteousness that are produced by diligence in the world. And they are given reason to ponder if this is righteousness of God or just righteousness of the world. But let a man spend immense time with the Lord Jesus and there is a distinct glowing difference.
And just like the waxed car, others take a mental note and say, “I would like to do that to my own.” As they see enough of the righteousness of God, the mental note becomes important enough to accomplish.
They may even approach others to ask how. That’s how I learned how to wax my truck like I do. That’s how I learned about the righteousness of Christ. That is why it is important to let the glory of God’s righteousness shine in our lives.
We: Live, Die, Face Judgment. Jesus or die twice.
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