Mark, Who?

“Many will say to Me on that Day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Thy name and in Thy name cast out demons and in Thy name do many wonderful works?’ Then I will frankly say to them, ‘I never knew you! Get away from Me, you mischief workers!’” Matthew 7:22, 23

I admit it, names sometimes escape me. I’m not talking about the second cousin of a passing acquaintance who I met once leaving the coffee shop. The names I forget are people I connect with week to week. I’ll be talking to my wife and saying, “I really like the way…” Blank! No kidding; in place of the name in my memory there is a big black hole. Hopefully I can remember the last name, or the spouse’s name. Like, “Barrett…oh yeah, Jim and Joanne Barrett.” “Honey, I really like the way Jim Barrett sings. It reminds me a lot of…uhm…oops”. That’s right; I have to conjure up another forgotten name.

It really is quite embarrassing, especially when the time it takes to access the person’s name in my brain is a telltale sign I’ve forgotten them. Sometimes I can give myself a little more slack in the rope by adding modifiers and phrases to the sentence. “I really like the way, the beautiful way; he sings those parts in the choir that are lower than the other men’s parts. His singing is like a well-tuned foghorn. (whirr, zzzzip, ccrackle…the gears in my mind finally access the name) Don’t you like Jim’s singing too?” Honestly, I don’t think I fool anyone.

What will be more embarrassing, though, is to have Jesus say, “I never knew you.” Jesus never forgets a name, or a face; so what is this all about? The problem is all the tactics we think we have to use to get Him to take notice. Yes, Jesus plans to be forgetful, but not about our names! Doesn’t God tell us that He will “be merciful to their iniquities and remember their sins no more”? (Hebrews 8:12)

But still we show off, “prophesying in His name” and then looking around to make sure someone noticed how spiritual we are. We see demons behind everything from the common cold to hurricanes and tsunamis, and hope people hear how much authority we take casting out said demons. We claim miracles, but want the credit. All the while Jesus wants something entirely different from us.

As a matter of fact, He calls these people “mischief makers”. People who are so focused on grandstanding can easily miss the simple requirements Jesus makes. We want to cast out demons, He says “Love your neighbor”. We want to miraculously cure the sick, Jesus says, “If someone demands you walk a mile with them, go two.” We want the focus on us while we make great spiritual pronouncements when Jesus said, “When you pray, go into your room privately, and you will be rewarded by Your Father who sees in private.”

On the other hand, there are a whole class of those who call on Jesus’ name that want to simply tack His name on to whatever current lifestyle they live. Jesus doesn’t make a difference, He makes them comfortable. Jesus doesn’t challenge them, He is supposed to coddle them. Jesus doesn’t demand transformation, He doesn’t tell the rich young ruler to give all His money to the poor and follow Him. He doesn’t tell the woman at the well He knows about her five previous husbands and the one she is living with now. He doesn’t insist the thief quit stealing, the adulterer quit being unfaithful.

For these people, Jesus makes them feel good, and they talk about feeling “blessed”, but hardly every talk about obedience. None of us ever will live up to the perfection of God’s holiness. That is why we needed God’s grace through Christ. But, Jesus calls us to changed lives, not excuses. He calls us to be holy, different, a light in the midst of darkness. Instead, many sit in the same darkness and just are glad that “Jesus is here with me.”

Either way, showing off for Jesus, or sloughing off, Jesus may very well say, “Who are you?” And it won’t be because of a lapsed memory. It will be because we never thought about what was really important to Him. We remained unchanged. Oh yes, our language changed. We talked about being blessed, and about miracles, and about demons and such, but our core remained focused on self. We either wanted to continue living our old life and just talk about Jesus “being with me”, or we did ok with the moral side, but still wanted the same attention we craved before we came to Christ.

And what about Jesus, what does He want? Maybe it’s time to stop trying to impress Him and simply read the gospels to discover what He truly wants from those who follow Him. Maybe it’s time to stop justifying behavior we know is disobedient to Him, and act as if we truly trust Him. Jesus couldn’t have said it clearer when He said, “If you love me, you will keep My commands.”

I want Him to know my name. I want, at the end of the age, to be able to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant”. I want to stop playacting Christianity. I want to bring everything; thoughts, emotions and actions into obedience to Christ. No, we will not be perfect this side of heaven, but we must at least be moving forward in maturity and obedience until He returns.