1 Corinthians 16:22

I was reading in 1 Corinthians today and I came across Paul's postscript near the end, and it caught my attention. "If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha." The letter was dictated, but this postscript was written by Paul's own hand, which should give us an idea of how important it is. Anathema means "cast away", and Maranatha means "the Lord cometh". The two together suggest the judgement of unbelievers at the coming of the Lord. Here we see the importance of truly loving Christ, rather than simply praying a "magical prayer" and living our lives in an outwardly righteous fashion. Matthew 7:22-23 states: "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy namedone many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." It is our love for the Lord that bears witness to our sincerity, and is of the utmost importance to our own personal assurance that we are truly His.

I don't know about you, but this one really hit home with me. I'd lived for years in what I would now look back on and regard as a "fake" passion for God. I didn't really love God or appreciate what he'd done for me, I had taken it for granted. I can't say for sure what would have happened to me if I'd continued living that way, but judging by this verse, it would most likely have not been pretty. As His word says, we cannot be plucked from our Saviors hand once we are His, but perhaps the question should be, were we ever really His? We must make absolutely sure that we have truly committed to God and made Christ Lord in our lives, it won't be enough to just say it, we have to be genuine.

Any thoughts?