Prepare for Your Entrance

“Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” (2Pe 1:10-11 AV)

There is a scene in the Wizard of Oz that we all remember.  The scene starts out with our rag-tag group finally gaining entrance into the Emerald City.  They are put in an open carriage whose horses change color every time the camera pans back to them.  They, we see various stages of restoration or beatification for each member of the group.  Dorothy gets a new hairdo, the Lion’s fur is braided, the scare crow is restuffed, and the tin man is polished.  Even Toto gets a makeover.  After all of their struggles, adversities, personal challenges, and faithfulness to the request of the Wizard, the arrive to receive the rewards of their courage and dedication.  As the Wizard is revealed to be a phony, our three ‘heroes’ discover they were more than they thought they were.  Through their adventure, the kept the eye on the objective of getting Dorothy home.  They were harder on themselves than they needed to be, but that one showed how humble they were in the face of insurmountable odds.  Each actually possessed that which they desired the most, but never truly realized they had.  The entrance they had was indicative of the dedication they showed on the outside.  The Lion got his courage because he stood up to the witch.  The Tin Man got his heart shaped clock because he cried tears of sorrow over the condition of Dorothy.  And the Scare Crow got his diploma because he engineered the plan that eventually saw the quartet at the doors of the Emerald City.  Their entrance was indicative of their life.

 However, the major difference between what Peter is speaking about and the story related above is this:  The characters of the Wizard of Oz were motivated by a cause and rewarded accordingly.  This is true of the believer as well.  But that to which Peter is referring is looking at this whole thing from the other perspective.  Seeing that we will gain eternal life and transformation into Christlikeness, and that is how we will enter the gates of eternity, we need to make our calling and election sure.  The prizes which the quartet received were not foreknown.  The cowardly Lion did not know he would receive a medallion.  The Tin Man did not know he would receive a heart shaped clock.  The Scarecrow did not know he would receive a diploma.  We know, in part, what we will receive.  The true nature of Christ without the old sin nature to combat us.

 If we already know we will enter the gates of eternity with a victor’s crown, not because we have overcome, but rather, because Christ has overcome in our stead, how then shall our life be here on this earth?  If we already know that we have won and the devil, the world, and the flesh have lost, how then shall we live?  It amazes me how much grace the LORD truly has.  It is immeasurable.  The grace of God is greatly humbling.  We do not deserve any kind of entrance.  Personally, coming in the servant’s entrance is still too good for me.  If the LORD is going to make that big a fuss over His saints arriving in glory, then we need to show great dedication to His will while living here on this Earth.  We have an entrance.  This entrance deserves our surrendered dedication to the grace of almighty God.