Are We Worthy of the Lord?
Matthew 10:37-39 NKJV — “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.
The War
We have a war started between the citizens of Ukraine and the forces of Russia. We are seeing some real heroism on the part of the citizens of Ukraine. They are defending their country even though in many cases they will lose their lives. Why are they doing that? I believe they are doing that out of love for their country. This war has caused me to think about my country (heaven) and my leader (the Lord Jesus), and whether I am willing to take up a cross in faithfulness to the Lord.
Tyrants
I have often said that tyrants ask people to die for them. They consider people expendable. People are nothing more than pawns in a chess game. They can lose a pawn or two or three or four so long as they don’t lose the King. I have also made the case that the Lord didn’t ask us to die for Him, He died for us. This is in contrast to tyrants. I probably need to clarify that statement. It is true that the Lord died for us and tyrants just simply don’t do that. But just as many in UKraine are giving their lives for the love of their country, many Christians have given their lives because of their love of Christ and because of their love for those who are not saved. They are giving their lives out of love for a greater cause than freedom from a tyrant.
And that Not of Yourselves
The above verses and others like them would make it appear that salvation is based on works which would include martyrdom. However, the Bible is clear that salvation is “not of works (Ephesians 2:9).” It is not of ourselves (I take it that salvation by faith is not of ourselves). Our salvation is a gift from God that we don’t deserve.
You will notice that those who refuse to take up a cross are not “worthy”. They certainly don’t represent the normal devoted hearts of those who realize that they have been saved from eternal conscious punishment by the death of Christ. They are not worthy of their salvation and they are not worthy of the Lord. However, I think we need to distinguish between salvation and service. Taking up our crosses has to do with service.
My question is and yours should be as well, if you claim Christ as your Savior, are you a devoted follower who is willing to take up your cross and die for the Lord? Would you sacrifice anything to prove your love for the Lord? Is your service worthy of Him?
My Personal Conviction
The Lord does not ask us to die for Him in order to be saved from eternal destruction. But He does ask us to be willing to die for Him if we want to be worthy of the exalted name of disciple. In this country, we know very little about sacrificing for anything. Would we be willing to sacrifice something (even our lives if necessary) for the Lord? I have been asking myself whether I am in this Christianity thing for what it does for me or am I in it for what it does for the Lord and for others. I hope that if I am really tested on what I am writing in this meditation, that I will prove to be “worthy.”
I am glad that the Lord considered me to be worthy of HIs salvation. I am glad that my faithfulness in service does not affect my standing in Christ, I am saved when I am faithful and when I am not. But am I willing to die for the One who died for me? I don’t know. My being “worthy” of the Lord and of His salvation depends on my answer. Being saved for eternity does not.
Bruce Collins
Meditation for the week of February 27, 2022