Love is a meaningless word without compassionate action.

(Listen to the song of the day “I Want to Follow You” on YouTube by clicking HERE)

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Matthew 7:21

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.”

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Jesus often says things to shake us awake.

Since he’s all about love…and perfect love drives out fear (1 John 4:18), the point here isn’t to scare you but to get your attention about a serious matter!

The point is that addressing Jesus is not having a relationship with him.

Knowing his name does nothing to make a meaningful difference here and now.

To experience the “kingdom of heaven”…you need to take action for the sake of love.

You must be love…to experience love.

Beliefs, rituals and actions in and of themselves are meaningless if they don’t make you a more loving, compassionate, forgiving person.

You can enter God’s kingdom (the realm of God)…in this moment…by following Jesus and cultivating a relationship with him.

This is the same as following the path of love and forgiveness in all that you do.

As Jesus later makes clear in today’s reading…what he wants is to know you.

That takes more than just calling out his name.

It takes a relationship…a relationship that will change the way you live your life and open the kingdom of heaven both now and always.

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Listen to the song of the day “I Want to Follow You” on the Listen to Your Heart album by clicking HERE.

Stream and/or purchase my songs on iTunes by clicking HERE.

Remember…God loves you!