“In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die, and not live.’ ” (2 Kings 20:1 NKJV)

How would you feel if someone came to you and informed you that they were sent by God to tell you that you need to get your heart right with the LORD because your life is about to end? Perhaps you would be alarmed. Hezekiah certainly was. But there’s something about this that I believe a lot of people don’t really consider as much as they ought to…

Hezekiah was appointed by God to be a leader of His people, his position didn’t excuse him from having to answer for the kind of life that he chose to live. For just as he was called by God to lead His people when he was healthy, he wasn’t excused from his calling simply because he was sick and dying. In other words, he wasn’t merely called to carry out God’s will for a moment; he was called to follow it for the duration of his life. Thus he was called to leave a legacy of righteousness and truth behind him.

With that said, what are you doing with your life? Are you living in such a way as to invite God to work out His good will in and through you? At some point death will come knocking on your door too: will you be ready for it? Is your house in order? Is your heart right with God?

Listen, if you are seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness in all matters of life, then you have no need to be concerned about the condition of your heart. For it is secure in Christ. However, if you aren’t, then you should be concerned, because you don’t know when you will breathe your last breath. And when death strikes, then judgment will come. At that point you will stand before God and answer for the life that you have chosen to live. And just as the LORD knew Hezekiah well enough to know that his house wasn’t in order, He knows our lives too; He can read our hearts like an open book. But do we really know Him?

Jesus said,

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ (Matthew 7:21-23 NKJV)

Jesus made it very clear here that a mere profession of faith is not enough proof to demonstrate that we belong to Him. Moreover, He made it clear that the performance of works which we deem to be righteous before God, are not enough to secure a place in heaven. What this means then is that we aren’t saved by saying, ‘Lord, Lord’, or by doing good deeds; rather, we are saved because we know Jesus Christ, but more importantly, because He knows us.

What will Jesus say to you on the Day of His coming?  Will you meet Him in the clouds or will He say that He never knew you?  The choices that we make throughout our lives will surely give us a good indication of what will become of us on that Day.  Therefore, let’s keep it real, and be sure to keep our hearts right with God. For death may be a lot closer than we realize, and we will answer to God for the choices that we have made prior to it.

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