From "Oh No!" To "Well Done!”

Take a moment to reflect on your life. Are you truly satisfied with your current situation? Your achievements? Your use of time on this earth? What changes would you make? What would you revisit and correct? What would you approach differently? These are profound questions that we should regularly ask ourselves, fostering a sense of introspection and thoughtful consideration.

Just about everyone has said, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that!" at least once in their life. It usually comes after we've made a mistake or said something that came out completely wrong. These powerful words communicate the difference between what we intended to happen and what actually happened. This difference can easily be called the "Oh No!" factor! Sometimes, the "Oh No!" factor is not too big of a deal; other times, it is a really big "Oh No" with ever-lasting consequences.

These are powerful questions we should routinely ask ourselves. Unfortunately, we often ask them with only our current life in mind rather than our eternity in mind. We think with too narrow a focus in too narrow a time frame, leading to inaccurate assessments of our lives.
A Big "Oh No!" Moment.

In the Gospel of Luke 12:16-21, Jesus spoke a parable about a rich man whose ground produced a lot of crops. The man had so much that he didn't know what to do with them because he ran out space to store them. He reasoned that the way to solve the problem was to tear down his old barns and build bigger ones. He thought his "Oh No!" problem was that he ran out of storage space. He was so pleased with himself and his situation that he figured he was set for a relaxing retirement of eating, drinking, and good times. Then it happened. God spoke to him and the first thing God did was address him as "fool!". Then God told him he was going to die that night and that he would never enjoy his retirement. God went further to ask who would be enjoying all those riches because the rich man would not be around to enjoy them.

The biggest "Oh No!" moment is when we realize we lived with the wrong purpose and that it would cause us to suffer loss for eternity! Talk about a long-lasting consequence! We must avoid living like this rich ruler and reassess our goals to ensure they have God at the center of them. The rich man had what others would have called "success". He had money, financial security, a long-term plan laid out, etc. However, he never expected that he would talk with God that night and hear that he was never going to see the next morning. I can image this man was envied by many others. He was probably known as a successful businessman, a provider to his community, and someone younger farmers probably sought advice from. Nevertheless, the rich man was dead and suffered eternal loss because he built up treasure for himself and was not rich toward God. (See Luke 12:21).

The Call To Greatness

Probably one of the scariest aspects of this parable is that the man didn't have any warning. He planned for his future and then suddenly realized he could take none of his riches with him. He realized he was rich in crops and poor in God.

This parable does not teach us to be financially poor. It is teaching that we should seek to be rich with the fullness of God over and above everything else! To be rich with God and to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness is the key! (See Matthew 6:33)
We are called to greatness and we are called to be filled with God's wisdom, power, righteousness, love, and purpose! Avoid the "Oh No!" factor at the end of your life at all costs.

Seek God, pursue Him! Live your life with His mission at the forefront of all you do!
Be filled with Him, and be ready to embrace a new level of greatness the Lord is calling you to! (See Ephesians 2:10) Then you will never have to say, "Oh No! I didn't mean that!"! Instead, you will hear," ‘...Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ (Matthew 25:23)