Stay alert

“And since you don’t know when that time will come, be on guard! Stay alert!”Mark‬ ‭13‬:‭33‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Here in Nepal my flatmates and I rent, our landlord lives above us. Knowing that the landlord sees into our flat as he goes out each day, ( outside our front window is where they keep their shoes ) causes us to be mindful of the state of our flat. A few months ago I heard that the landlord’s wife said my balcony was dirty, knowing that made me clean it. The landlord employs a cleaner for his flat and I often see her dusting the rails of their balcony. Therefore, I knew dust was an issue.

Now, God does not behave like our landlord, however, when Jesus comes we will all face an inspection. The first question will be: ‘what did you do with the free gift of salvation? Is Jesus Lord of your life?’ And the next will be, ‘how have you used what I gave you?’ Jesus gave us parables about a ruler who gives his servants minas (a sum of money) before going on a journey. When he returned he inspected what they had done. Two used what they were given to create more, one didn’t. Two were praised and promoted and one was cast out. The harshness of being cast out lives in this parable. We cannot assume ‘all will be well’. What have we done with what we have been given?

If we fail to answer the first question, then hell is our destination. If we fail to answer the second question it appears hell is also our destination. A lot of Christians think accepting Jesus as saviour is enough, is it? In Luke 19:11-27 what the wicked servant had was taken away only . However, in Matthew 25 the story ends differently:

“Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭25‬:‭30‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Does that mean the servant retains salvation? Where is outer darkness? A good thought to ponder!