Isaiah 26:8 (NIV)
8. In the path of your judgments, O LORD, we wait for you; your name and remembrance are the desire of our soul.

Matthew 25:32-33 (NLT)
32 All the peoples will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.

There will come a time when we get sorted. Everyone wants to go to heaven (probably even atheists too). No matter how despicable someone is in this life, we hope that they’ve gone on to heaven when they pass. Why? Wouldn’t it be nice if we could pull whatever selfish and self-centered “stuff”* we wanted and still go to heaven? Isn’t that the way we look at it? We hope because we don’t want to imagine the other.

Matthew 25:37-40
37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’

And, if you’re not, well, you’re not and you get sorted. It’s a really harsh reality that most of us aren’t comfortable with. Who in the world says that I can’t do what I want and still receive the benefits and comforts that heaven offer just because I’m not doing what God is telling me to do?

Think about it – it’s God who created heaven. His rules. His call. Period. We come along with him or we don’t.

James 1:12 (ESV)
Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

When you do, you do. Whether it’s in God’s will or your will, whether it’s for the least of us or just for us, whether it’s in line and under the direction of Christ, God and the Holy Spirit or going your own way, you do and will be held accountable. Good enough just isn’t good enough.

He has the path we are to follow if we’re going to get to where we all think we deserve.

When you do, do it as we’re taught whether you want to or not.

* My wife want’s me to keep it clean, so no more words like crap….