Live with Eternity in View

 

  

One rainy day on his way to the market, Wandaro had noticed a clinic erected by a newly arrived white couple. The white man Earl Lewis beckoned Wandaro and others to take shelter from the torrential rain. Lewis began reading from a strange book. A book brought by a foreigner! Was this what the Ethiopian prophet Asa had prophesied long ago? Wandaro wondered “a foreigner would bring a book telling about the creator, whom people should worship”.

The next week Wandaro returned for more of this news and eventually declared “I renounce Satan to follow Jesus”. For the first time he felt joy. He longed to read more about God for himself but he had never been to school. Mrs Lewis helped him learn Amharic. Wandaro was the slowest in the group, but his love for his savior burned strongly. In 1933 he and nine others became the first wolaytos to be baptized.

When Ethiopia fell to the Italian invaders in 1936, corrupt officials, resentful of evangelical witness, saw their opportunity to get rid of foreign missionaries. In 1937 the missionaries were forced out, leaving only 48 believers. Tears rolled down Wandaro ’s cheek as the missionaries were evicted. Through their own tears, the missionaries called back, “we are leaving you, but God is not leaving you!”Persecutions descended on the believers like a baptism of fire.

 They were rounded out, beaten and leaders imprisoned. They worshiped in secret, hiding their precious Bible portions in buried pots.  But what puzzled the enemies was the continued growth of the churches. Pagan’s bystanders were convinced as they heard the testimony of Christians being beaten for their faith and they too trusted in Christ. When the invasion ended in 1941, the authorities had to focus on other urgent matters and Wandaro continued preaching the gospel across the valleys and hills.

Missionaries were allowed back into Ethiopia in 1942 and they cautiously inquired about the few believers that they had left at Walayto. They were astounded to learn that the forty eight they had left had multiplied to ten thousands with possibility of 100 churches. A big crowd of believers turned out to welcome them this time with tears of joy. Among them was Wandaro- his body covered with scars but his face wreathed in a familiar wide smile.

Welcome! God has sent you back to teach the new believers. See how many there are now but they are untaught. Amazed the missionaries looked up and saw lines of believers streaming towards them over the hilly paths, chanting antiphonal hymns. Suffering would be repeated with even greater ferocity during the communist regime of the 1970s and 1980s. Still encouraging believers to stand true was Wandaro , then an old man but with the same solid faith and simple smile.

In Philippians 2: 12 Paul tells the Philippians “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling”. When he was living with them, Paul had observed that, when they heard the Word of God, they immediately responded to it. When the Scriptures revealed what was the will of God, they took it to heart and did it.

Approximately ten years after he left them, their joyful and trustful obedience was still adorning and advancing the gospel.  Delighted by that, Paul now tells them, "even though I'm not there in person, obey the Word of God just as if I was there. As a matter of fact, be even more faithful to do so." If their obedience had just been to please Paul, it would not have been evidence of a genuine work of God in their hearts.

The measure of our effectiveness in ministry is greatly determined by how people live in our absence. We have accomplished very little if our disciples only live for God when we are around and then go back to their old ways when we leave. Those that we invest in must learn to feel responsible to God, not to us. This entails urging our disciples not to cling Christ and not to us. They should obey the Lord whether other people are watching or not.

Paul tells the Philippians to work out their salvation “with fear and trembling”. “Matters of Eternity” is not something to trifle with. How we handle salvation in this life determines where we spend eternity and the rewards we shall receive. What we do or neglect in this life will determine whether we shall be found ready and get admission to heaven (Matt. 25). The attitudes and motives behind our service to God will determine whether we shall get any rewards (1Cor. 13:1-8).

God said “if a righteous man turns from righteousness and practices iniquity, committing the same abominations as the wicked, will he live? None of the righteous acts he did will be remembered; because of the unfaithfulness and sin he has committed he will die” (Ezek. 18:24). We can give up salvation because of persecution. But, Jesus said “do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Hell” (Matt 10:28).

He warned "Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord in Your name we performed many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness (Matt. 7:21-23). I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot, I wish you were cold or hot. And, because you are lukewarm, I am going to spit you out of my mouth” (Rev 3:14-16).

How terrible it will be for those who have preached the Gospel to others to end up in Hell! How terrible it will be for lukewarm Christians, who never worked out their salvation but simply drifted through life carelessly, only to end up in Hell.  Paul is saying work out your salvation with fear and trembling because your eternal destiny depends on it. Jesus promised that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled (Matt. 5:6).

Righteousness is God’s absolute standard for holiness. We should grow a passionate, insatiable craving for God’s righteousness. Life on this earth is imperfect, but we should long to be righteous. We should yearn for a true, unbroken closeness to our God and pursue it throughout life. We should have an eternal perspective in all that we do. We should pursue eternal values daily, both in speech and behavior.

Living with eternal values in view means making every decision based on what is important to God. We are to be pleased by what pleases God and heartbroken by what breaks God’s heart.  .To be able to do this, we need to know what God likes and what he hates. It’s all written in his holy word and we have the Holy Spirit open our eyes of understanding (1Cor. 2:10-11, John 16:13).  Those truly saved by God want to please and obey Him in all respects.

 Each one of us will give an account of ourselves to God (Rom 14:12). Since God looks on the heart, we need to learn how to please Him each day with our thoughts as well as with our words and deeds. He searches the heart and test the mind to give every person what their deeds deserve (Jer. 17:10). We must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, so that each may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil (2Cor.5:10-11).

God will bring every deed into judgement, with every secret thing, whether good or evil (Ec. 12:14). No creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account (Heb. 4:13). The lord will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will expose the motive of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God (1Cor. 4:5).

We must account for every word and deed. On the judgment day people will give account for every careless word they speak. For by your words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned (Matt. 12:36,37). John saw the dead standing before the throne and books were opened. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done (Rev 20:12).

Since what we do not has eternal consequences, our goal must persistently be to please God. We should work our salvation with fear and trembling. Like David we should declare “I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way, I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. I will set no wicked thing before my eyes. A perverse heart shall depart from me. I will not know wickedness (Ps. 101:2-4).