What God Is More Concerned About
I just got a shocker after reading the book of Luke. So one day Jesus disciples came to him excitedly saying "even the demons obeyed us when we gave them a command in your name!" Jesus later cautions them saying "But don't be glad because the evil spirits obey you; but rather be glad because your names are written in heaven"
Interesting right? Is it not the casting of demons and miracles that we pride ourselves in lately? I believe most of us think that the fact that a man of God casts out demons and performs miracles means he has an automatic ticket to heaven. Since it doesn't look like casting out demons etc is a sure banker to heaven, then what is it then?
Jesus gives a lot of scenarios when it comes to making it to heaven but let's look at a few.
Jesus gives a scenario in Matthew 25:34-40 New International Version saying:
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
It means God is more concerned about the way we treat a fellow human being than all the anointings and supernatural things we're priding ourselves in lately. Human life is the most important thing to God.
God wants us to show love to each other and it's evident in Luke 10:25. Someone asked what he must do to receive eternal life and when Jesus asked him what the scriptures say, the man answered; "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength and with all your mind : and love your neighbour as yourself. Another man then asked Jesus, who is my neighbour? Jesus then tells the story of the good Samaritan.
When you analyse the good Samaritan story, you'd realize that the good Samaritan and the man who was attacked by robbers didn't know each other but the good Samaritan offered help to the stranger. Jesus in trying to define who a neighbour was compared the priest, the levite and the good Samaritan and asked "amongst the three, who acted like a neighbour towards the man attacked by robbers?
The man answered "The one who was kind to him" Jesus then replied, "You go, then, and do the same."
One can infer from this story that from God's point of view, a neighbour is someone who cares about the welfare of a fellow human being.
So in summary, making it to heaven is not about the number of tongues you speak, the demons you cast out, the powerful sermons you preach, how accurate your prophecies are or how spiritual you are. It's basically about how you treat your fellow human being created in the image and likeness of God.