Without a doubt one of the best known brands of motorcycles is Harley Davidson. People will even put Harley parts onto another brand of motorcycle to create some kind of "knockoff" just to loo
k like one.
To the non-rider all cruisers look like Harleys, they even (gasp) sound like Harleys.
But to those of us who ride one, we can tell, usually spot the differences. And someone who works on them day in and day out, or builds them in the factory, is never fooled.
Looking like a Harley, even sounding like a Harley doesn't make a motorcycle a Harley.
Sometimes Jesus said things that cut right through all our posing and pretense.
"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 who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'" Matthew 7:21-23 (NIV)
What is the difference between doing God's will and doing things in his name?
When we do the will of God, we see what he is doing and join him in it. He leads, we follow and we are in a love relationship with him. Father and child, servant and Lord. He says, we do. Just like Jesus.
"Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. " John 5:19-20 (NIV)
When we do things in Jesus' name only, we slap a bunch of Christian labels on our agenda and proclaim it to be the work of Christ. Jesus calls people like that, "evildoers" and he wants nothing to do with them.
Just like that knockoff HD, it may fool some, but it will never get past the the creator.
He can tell the difference, every time.
