My wife and I were sitting on the stoep. She was busy with a serious study of Revelations. She described to me how all the predictions were increasingly being realised. Look at our way of paying, for example. Nowadays, I simply tap my phone and the payment is done. We’re really moving to a cashless society.

She went on to say how Revelations said there would be a time that we would have to choose for or against God. Immediately I said I would choose God. But if you’re a mother with four small children, would you let them die from hunger by not choosing the world’s payment system and rather choose God? You see, the choice then is a whole lot different from one just involving myself.

I felt a little bit scared. What if I didn’t have the courage to choose right? What if my faith is too small and cannot withstand the attacks by the world and the devil?

I realise the restoration process in my life will never stop. I keep going back to my old way of doing things. All too often my faith fails and I try to get through life on my own.

I suspect this is human, but we have to realise that we’re not going to make it on our own. We’re simply too small and too little and too weak to complete the restoration process in our own lives.

That’s why we should be open to enter into a partnership. We must allow Jesus to become our partner in the ongoing restoration process in us, so that we can become more and more like the picture God has of us: ²¹… Make us into what gives him most pleasure, by means of the sacrifice of Jesus, the Messiah.

We must make space for Jesus to work in our lives. We must make space for Jesus to sort out the not-so-fresh stuff in our lives. We must allow Him to pull out the wrong things and plant new plants that will bear flowers, smelling good to God.

It’s not easy, because we want to do everything on our own – we don’t actually like being told what to do. But if we want to make the right choice at the end to afterwards receive our own crown, we must go into partnership and surrender to Jesus to do His thing in our lives.

But how do we do this practically in our lives every day? We must read His stories. We must take His Word and read what He says about how we should live. We must put on His way of life here on earth so that we can also live like that.

Then we will start living a life God will be proud of. Then we’ll live a life where we don’t have to be afraid of making the wrong choice when the end times come.

Then we’ll live a life that testifies of our gratitude to God and to Jesus, and our life will tell others that we cannot do it on our own, and that all the glory belongs to Him: ²¹… All glory to Jesus forever and always! Oh, yes, yes, yes.

Scripture
Hebrews 13:18-25

Reflection
Do you sometimes fear the end?
Do you allow Jesus to work in your life?
How should you make space to do the things that will make God proud?

Prayer
Father, forgive my fear. Help me to do more things that will make You proud. Help me to allow Jesus more into my life and to do less of my own stuff. In Jesus’ Name, amen.