Thoughts on Today’s Verse…

What kind of people can enter the kingdom of heaven? Some brothers and sisters believe that as long as we labor hard, expend for the Lord day and night and spread the gospel, we can enter God’s kingdom. Some believe that our sins have been forgiven by the Lord, so we have become righteous through faith and will be taken to His kingdom when He comes. From this verse, we can know that these views are not in line with God’s will. In the Bible, God also said: “You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.” Clearly, only those who are holy can meet the Lord and enter God’s kingdom. This is the only condition of entering the kingdom of heaven predestined by Jesus.

Though we can labor hard, we still live in the cycle of sinning and confessing. For instance, we often tell lies; we hate others when they involve our interests; we compare ourselves to each other and are jealous of each other; we complain against the Lord when something unpleasant happens; we follow our own wishes when we do work … All of these behaviors prove that we have no place for the Lord in our hearts, we don’t revere God or put Jesus’ words into practice. How can we be in line with the Lord’s will? The Pharisees worked harder than us, but why did they nail Jesus to the cross? Could they be qualified to enter the kingdom of heaven? Hence, outward labor cannot decide our destiny. Jesus once said, “Not every one that said to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? and in your name have cast out devils? and in your name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess to them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity” (Mat 7:21-23). Obviously, only we follow God’s will, cast off our corruption and become holy can we enter His kingdom. Amen!