Through this series of articles I will be sharing what God reveals to me in my daily devotional time with him.

Recently, I was drawn by the Holy Spirit to a passage in the Bible…Matt. 7:21-23, the words of Christ…and that got me thinking…What if we miss the will of God for our lives? What does it matter if I do everything, that we think is what God wants us to do, but still don’t do the will of God for our lives?

WHAT will happen on that day when Christ returns? What will happen to the millions of people who may claim they have preached, prayed, worshipped, healed, cast out demons, sung in choirs, ministered to the sick, prophesied, led worship, composed spiritual songs, performed miracles…and done thousands of other things… in the name of Christ? And to whom Christ will say “I never knew you. Get away from me”. (v.23)

I for one don’t want to be among that group of people. I want the 100% assurance that I will be entering the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus Christ states, “Only those who actually do the will of my Father in Heaven will enter”.

Through this series of revelations that God has mercifully given me, I will be sharing what the Holy Spirit reveals to me about doing the will of God.

God has been taking me through scripture, showing me the one thing, which is most important in this life – to do the Will of God. Nothing else matters. Your job, finances, family, circumstances, successes, failures, career, property, investments, children, future plans, spouse, neighbors, goals, reputation, health…..nothing, absolutely nothing, matters as much as doing the will of God!

Isn’t that something? Isn’t that scary? In the final analysis – all those things that consume our waking moments, every single day of our lives – our prayers for success in this life, our dreams of prosperity, our desires to satisfy our earthly needs and wants – none of these will count for anything. Only what’s done in keeping with God’s will for us, can stand the fire on Judgment Day. Everything else will be burned and destroyed by fire! (1Cor. 3:13)

My friend, if you are reading this blog, it is no accident. Take a moment to pause, and ask yourself this question – “What is the single most important thing to me in my life at this point?” And then consider your answer, honestly and sincerely. Write it down. Reflect on it for a few days. Put it on your back burner. Think about it as you drive or commute. Really, is it all that important to you? Even more important than eternal life?

As you reflect on the single most important thing in your life over the next few days, consider the Rich Man mentioned in Matt. 19:16-21. He kept every commandment of the law. But when Jesus invited him to “follow me”, he just could not do it. These were the exact same words that Jesus said to Mathew in Matt. 9:9 “follow me”. Mathew followed Christ. He became a disciple. As a result, Christ promised him that when the world is made new and Christ sits upon his glorious throne, that he too will sit upon a throne in heaven (Matt. 19:28)!

The rich man whose name we do not know, who was he? Where is he now? What became of his wealth and possessions 2000 years ago? Did he witness Christ’s crucifixion? History records that the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in AD 70. Was that rich man killed during that time? What became of his family? He had the opportunity of a lifetime, to become a disciple of the Master. But we are told that he went away sad, because there were other things that were more important to him at the time. He didn’t get a second chance.

Now, let’s pause and do a little bit of speculating for a moment. Had the rich man done what Christ wanted him to do, who knows, he may have been used of God, like Paul the apostle was. Clearly, like Paul but unlike the other disciples, the rich man was educated; wealthy; had many possessions; and undoubtedly believed in eternal life and was actively seeking eternal life (v16). However, unlike Paul (whom scripture does not record as having met Jesus before his death and resurrection), he was respectful of Jesus, calling him “good teacher”. Equally clearly, Jesus saw something in the rich man that prompted Jesus to invite the rich man to follow him. In hindsight, we see that it was a great missed opportunity for the rich man. “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, but loses his Soul?” (Mark 8:36)

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The author is a business professor at a university, near San Francisco California.