Taking Salvation For Granted

Fundamentally, we must understand that "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."  This means that, to be wise, one must first fear the Lord.

What does that mean, to fear the Lord?  I believe it means that we're always aware of the precarious state we are in, that we are not given any guarantee that life will go our way or that we will inherit Heaven, simply because we prayed a prayer or some such nonsense.

I'm not saying we need to walk on eggshells.  Just a simple understanding that we can't just do exactly what we want to do all the time and in every situation, because we all know that God is judge and he can do what he likes with us.  We must choose to never presume upon God's kindness.  If we do presume upon God's kindness, it is possible that we can begin to believe that we may do whatever we like without worrying about any kind of repercussions, and this is an unhealthy place to be for any follower of God.

Please don't misunderstand me- I'm not espousing any kind of works-based religion here.  It is the condition of your heart that you must be cognizant of, not the status of your works.  Your heart can be hard or soft, and a hard heart is more dangerous than any sin ever could be.  A hard heart will keep you out of the kingdom of God.  A soft heart is pliable in the hands of God, and it's a heart God can move towards compassion and kindness.  Good deeds wrought from a good, soft heart, without the purpose of personal glory but instead desiring to help and aid one's fellow man is a heart destined for the kingdom of Heaven. 

Always remember that Jesus taught several parables about salvation, and none of the parables did it talk at all about accepting Jesus's death and resurrection as being the basis for getting into Heaven.  Instead, Jesus talked about masters who give talents to servants and then leave, coming back much later to see what they have done with the talent.  Or separating the sheep from the goats- judging people based on how they treated the least of these brothers of mine.  Fundamentally, how we respond to God's invitation to really live as emissaries of the kingdom of Heaven is what will demonstrate on Judgment Day that our hearts were soft and that we cared about what Jesus cared about, and therefore we are fit for Heaven.