“These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.” Hebrews 11:13-16
Lately at our church we have thought a lot about the imminent return of the Lord. Friends, the gathering together of the church is closer now than it was this morning. It feels like it’s going to happen soon, and many believers from around the world are sensing the same thing. With that said, whether the Lord comes tonight or five hundred years from now, it’s important that we live like he’s coming before our next words. Why? Because living this way keeps our perspective in line with God’s and helps us to live in a way that is pleasing in His sight.
In these last days we need to maintain our focus. We need to keep an eye on the end game and on our ultimate goal. What goal would that be? To hear proclaimed over us the testimony of Matthew 25:21 “…Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.” That was the goal of the “heroes of the faith” listed in Hebrews 11. They weren’t enamored with this life; they were looking for a better plane of existence. They realized God had something better, if only they would believe and remain faithful. You know what? They did. They got there, and their faithfulness in this life was rewarded. You know what else? We can get there too. How? By doing what Scripture said they did. We can share their testimony of faithfulness to the Lord if we keep from being “mindful” of this world we are living in and be more mindful of the world we are going to!
“Good and Faithful,” that’s what I want to hear from Jesus at my personal day of judgment. There will be nothing better, and of course, the Biblical alternative is unthinkable. So, how can we give ourselves the best opportunity to hear those words? By following the point of the parable Jesus spoke to us in Matthew 25:14-30. What was that point? We need to be 1, good, and 2, faithful! Duh! Of course, that’s easier said than done, and really when you think about it, that’s actually impossible in ourselves.
Take being “good” for instance. The Bible states that “…There is none righteous, no, not one” and “there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” (Romans 3:10 and 12) In Matthew 19:17 Jesus himself states “There is none good but one, that is, God,” and when being “good” is one of the criteria to entering the eternal joy of the Lord, that poses a real problem for us. We need to be “good” but there’s no way we can be in our own efforts. So, what do we do? We follow the example of our forefathers in the faith and fall into the grace of the promises of God. We choose to believe and receive the ramifications of II Corinthians 5:21. We acknowledge Jesus, and his work of redemption, as our righteousness. We become “good” in God’s eyes, not because of our own merits, but because we’ve chosen to honor his Son as our Savior and Lord.
With the goodness of Jesus accounted to us, all that leaves is for us to be faithful. Easy, right? Well, no, because you really can’t achieve that on your own either can you? Of course not. To be truly faithful to the Lord—trustworthy, reliable, full of faith—we have to lean into God’s grace once more. Sure, we have our part to play, and it’s so important that we are reliable to do the work God’s called us to do in this life and to be responsible with the resources He has entrusted to us, but this task takes His daily help as well. You know what though? That grace is there in abundance when we are more mindful of it than of the trappings of the world around us.
Brothers and sisters, we can hear that wonderful testimony from the Lord at that day, but we must rely on his grace in this life to qualify. I encourage you to lean into that help daily, and choose to do your part by freeing your mind from the worries and happenings of this world. Let’s be more mindful of the world to come until we see that Kingdom come in its fulness!
Greg Crum is the pastor of Calvary Temple in Lovely