Lord, Lord

I feel like a swinging pendulum.

When I first came to trust Christ as Savior, I was part of a very strict, fundamental denomination. Even as a young teen, I was under the impression that only members of that denomination could truly be saved.

I remember attending a youth camp at another church one summer. My mom thought it wise for me to socialize with other Christians outside my usual circle of friends. I was amazed to learn there were indeed others who knew Christ and yet worshipped a bit differently from me. My goodness, some of the girls even wore pants! I shut my eyes again, however, and shrank back to the "we alone" mentality during my years at Bible college. Years later, I left that denomination (and it's legalistic trappings) for good and once again opened my eyes and learned to embrace others who professed Christ as Savior but worshipped differently.

Lately I seem to keep bumping into people in my reading and on the Internet who call themselves Christians but don't have a clue what it's about. Their Christianity is based on their own perception of what they want God to be, a god of their own creation. I understand and believe that, while our fruits do bear witness of our salvation, it is not my place to determine whether or not someone is a Christian. That is between that person and God. However, Jesus did say that many will say to Him one day, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles? And Christ will reply, "I never knew you." So while it is not my job to judge the condition of another's heart simply by what I can observe, I believe I am to be wise and remember that not all who profess the name of Christ really know Him.