LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? — Psalm 15:1
One time, I was sitting in an office with several members of my team, and we were reviewing resumes. Quite a few people had applied for a job with our company, and we were tasked with finding the best candidate. At that time, the job market was a lot more difficult than it is today. People were aggressive in their search for jobs as jobs were scarce.
On one side, we set out the job description. While we knew what the job entailed, we were not able to recite from memory the qualifications of the job. They were required to be a licensed healthcare worker in this position. That required specific training, including a college degree. Another qualification listed was a specific length of experience. We were able to take the many resumes and compare them to the qualifications.
As we dug through the pile of papers, we found that no one was qualified for the role we were hiring for based on the qualifications. The requirements of the job as listed were extremely high. No one held the required training, education, and experience.
In this Psalm, David asks a question that should cause us all to reflect and encourage us. at the end of this verse, he asks, who shall dwell in thy holy hill? The question is essentially who is qualified to dwell with God in His holy place? If we look over the qualifications, we will all quickly see that none of us are qualified!
Nothing of ourselves qualifies us for Heaven. Thankfully, the story does not end there. While we may not be qualified of ourselves, we are qualified through the blood of Jesus Christ! God is not looking for money, training, licensure, or anything else. He is simply looking for the blood of Jesus.
Don’t get discouraged when you look at yourself and see sin, fault, and failure. Those are all things of this world. God is looking at your heart. He’s looking to see if the blood of Jesus has been applied. If it has, He says you are worthy and more than qualified!
Jared Dyson
Another Well Ministries
Jesus does advise and teach to lead one's life a certain way. The key to Heaven is first and foremost, the belief and Faith that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, and that he came from The Father. I know that Luther hated the book of James because James taught that Faith without charity is pointless. It's been a theological debate since the Protestant Reformation. While the Gospel states that accepting Jesus came from the Father, and that He and the Son are one, Jesus also says "who ever does for the least of these, they do for me". If I know that Jesus is God, made into flesh, I also know that there are behaviors and thoughts that please God, and behaviors and thoughts that reject God. . I understand that doing good, as taught by Jesus, does not get me a 1st class seat in heaven, because in Heaven there are no special seats, save for the Son. An evil man can give charity, and act a certain way to deceive people into thinking that he is a good man. But God knows our hearts, so there is no deceiving him. But to serve the "least of these", with Faith, gives blessings of the Holy Spirit, not wealth, not good luck, but blessings. You know that feeling you get when you help someone, or cause a sick person to smile, or bring water to a thirsty person or creature? Or help a neighbor, or to volunteer in a food pantry or a church supper? If you do it in a humble nature, truly not seeking your own salvation, but out of gratitude for God's sacrifice, and if your mind is clean, your blessing will be a peace of mind and a feeling of more love from HIM. It is not that HE will love you more, it is that you will FEEL it, that is the blessing. I testify that the more I act to please GOD, the more HIS presence is in my consciousness. If your Faith strives to be perfect, and you reject doubt in your mind, I believe the next step is that you will be compelled to do what pleases HIM. Faith and Charity go together like yeast and flour, and we feast on the Bread of Heaven and are sustained, daily. Forgiven as we forgive, saved, like a kitten in a storm.
...compelling addendum...
It is called rightly dividing the Word of Truth. James is a book written for the tribulation period.
Extremely well said. And we strive. Amen!