In my bio, I mentioned writing for many years. Occasionally, and not as often as I should, I return to the old files for review, reflection, and renewal. Below is my first post on the readjohnpace blog; it is one needed for my reflection today.
“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:19 ESV)
In my morning devotion the other day, the Spirit spoke distinctly into my spirit: “You’ve been given the keys, so what have you done with them?”
Yes, well, that stopped me in my tracks — a pop quiz (if you will) given to examine my Christian walk.
No time to prepare, cram in any work or fall on my knees in prayer.
Truly this was a foreshadowing of my appearance before the judgment seat of Christ. An appointed time, unknown to me but certainly known to Him, where my Christian life will be judged.
So, I wondered, pondered, and reflected on just what I had done with the authority the Father had given me as His son, through His Son.
That’s what the keys represent, the ability and authority to find His will in heaven and work it out on earth. They denote my work with Him in revealing His kingdom to this world.
I thought of four things that could happen with these keys:
1. They could be used rightly in submitting my life and spiritual gifts to Him for His glory.
2. They could open new doors for me to walk through by His grace.
3. They could have been tucked away in some drawer and not readily used.
4. They could have been abandoned altogether.
While I would love to say number one was my answer, I soon realized that I had been given ‘keys’ (plural) and, without doubt, there were some in my possession that qualified for each of the four options.
By His grace, I try and submit my life and gifts to Him (#1).
There were some new doors opened, but no doubt some I lacked the faith to walk through (#2).
There were some things that I had wanted to do but had yet to do, so those keys were dormant (#3).
…And there were things I just didn’t want to deal with, so I abandoned those keys altogether (#4).
Since that day I have put His keys given to me on my keyring, spiritually fastening them to my belt of truth. As they jingle when I walk, I can constantly be aware of them all and have no fear of using any of them as He may prompt. After all, He gave them to me to be used.
So, how would you answer the question?
Because He has given you keys too.
Originally published at https://readjohnpace.com on March 3, 2018.
