Echoes in Eternity

But, O LORD of hosts, who judges righteously, who tests the heart and the mind... (Jeremiah 11:20)

I was reading Jeremiah this morning and came across the above text. Repeatedly throughout Scripture, God reminds us that He's not about having a bunch of empty-headed mystics who have passion for Him and are sensitive to His Spirit but are doctrinally foolish, just as He isn't looking for stoic followers who have no love for Him or His Word. He doesn't just test the heart to see if His people have passion, He also checks if they understand the Truth. In John 4:21-24, Jesus told the woman at the well that while she indeed worshiped God, she still worshiped wrongly because she didn't know God or the truth about Him. And God applies this standard to all of life, not just our worship of Him, since everything we do in life is ultimately either godly worship or idolatry. That's probably what Paul was getting at in 1 Corinth. 3:14-15: passion will only get you so far. If what one does and thinks is not built on Christ, it will warrant no reward in the next life. That doesn't mean that one loses their salvation over being a foolish, double-minded Christian, but it does mean that he will get into heaven by the skin of his teeth. God is merciful to that which is done in ignorance (Romans 14:5) but that doesn't mean we shouldn't correct that ignorance when we see it, either in others or ourselves. How much more fruitful can that person's life be if they worship God in truth as well as Spirit?