I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness! (Matthew 7:23 NKJV)

Imagine this. You die. When you see Jesus, He turns to you and says, “I never knew you; depart from Me.”

Those are the worst words you could ever hear. After you die, your fate is sealed. There’s no going back. You don’t go to purgatory; there is no opportunity to change your mind or work off your debt. As the Bible says, “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many” (Hebrews 9:27–28 NKJV). We must choose whether we will follow Jesus in this lifetime.

Many know about Jesus. But fewer are known by Him. You can have knowledge about who Jesus is without having a personal relationship with Him. Even the demons know who Jesus is (see, e.g., Mark 3:11; Luke 4:41); yet, they don’t follow Him.

To be in a relationship with Jesus, we need to follow the way that He’s made. Manmade religious practices like

• going to a church service;
• praying through a rosary;
• confessing your sins to a priest; and
• saying rote prayers

aren’t sufficient. They won’t result in relationship. We must worship God the way He’s prescribed.

And God the Father has made one way to come to Him: through His Son, Jesus. As Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6 NKJV). The way to eternal life is through Jesus – by knowing Him. As Jesus prayed to God the Father, “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3 NKJV).

Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for your sin; there’s no other way than to accept what He’s done for you. If you “confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9 NKJV). Why? “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:10 NKJV).

Make sure you step off the wide path that leads to destruction and hop over to the path that goes through the narrow gate to life (Matthew 7:13). Then you won’t have to worry about hearing the worst words you could ever hear. Instead, you’ll be like the sheep that Jesus talked about – the one who hears His voice. He will know you, and you will follow Him (John 10:27).

So, come to Jesus – His way. Listen for His voice each day as you walk by faith with Him. Then, one day, you’ll hear the best words you could ever hear: “Well done, good and faithful servant . . . . Enter into the joy of your lord” (Matthew 25:21 NKJV).

Photo by Warongkarit Ingkutanon on Unsplash