Where Is God Fitting Into Your Picture?

" Why do you judge your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God.  For it is written: "As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God."  So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. "

Rom.14:10-12

Have you ever noticed in the scripture, how much emphasis there is on doing for others? One of the first commandments given to Israel outside of Loving God, is to love your neighbor as  yourself.  This is because God wants us to take the love that we have for him, and communicate that love in our lives to others. In other words, to take our minds off of self centered living. This begs the question, how much time am I spending on what I want versus what God wants?  Then, answer that question in light of Rom.14:12, "Each of us will have to give a personal account to God."  

One day God will compare how much time and energy we spent on ourselves compared with what we invested in serving others. Think about the implications of this. There will come a day when God will compare how much time and energy we spent on ourselves compared with what we invested in serving others and serving Him.  Mt.25:40 reminds us, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." At that point, all our excuses for self-centeredness will sound hollow: "I was too busy," or "I had my own goals," or "I was preoccupied with working, having fun, or preparing for retirement."  To all excuses God will respond, "I created, saved, and called you and commanded you to live a life of service. What part did you not understand?"

We are only fully alive when we're helping others. Jesus said, "If you insist on saving your life, you will lose it. Only those who throw away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live." (Mk 8:35; 10:39; 16:25; Lke 9:24; 17:33).  If you are not serving, you are just existing -- because life is meant for serving God, and in that, God wants you to learn to love and serve others unselfishly.but for Christians it will mean a loss of eternal rewards.  The Bible warns "but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey wickedness, there will be wrath and fury (Rom.2:8)."  Wouldn't it be a shame, to say we are a Christian, go to church, etc., only to be denied entrance to heaven because "I was too busy," or "I had my own goals," or "I was preoccupied with working, having fun, or preparing for retirement."   Where is God fitting into the picture of your life and what are you doing to serve Him today?

Jim