Moment of Meditation Not Everyone (Matthew 7:21)

Original Broadcast: February 2010

Monthly Theme: Second Commandment

[Jesus said:] "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."
(Matthew 7:21)

Not Everyone

A loving God wouldn't send anyone to Hell. That's the classic American, quasi-Christian understanding of the afterlife. A loving, grandfatherly God who cannot even think of sending someone to Hell--much less create a place like that.

But Jesus says otherwise. "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of Heaven." Entrance into Heaven will not be simply calling Jesus Lord as everyone will do on the Last Day (Philippians 2:10-11). It's not knowing the right words to say that will get you into Heaven.

It's the faith behind the words. St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, "No one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except in the Holy Spirit" (1 Corinthians 12:3). Without the Holy Spirit, no one can call on God as He has commanded us. With the Holy Spirit, we're comforted with God's guarantee that He will hear us. Jesus' words ring true: "Whatever you ask in My name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son" (John 14:13). Amen.