This Life is a Soul Test
Will you rise or will you fall?
You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.
—James 2:24
This life is a test.
Will we stand out among our peers, or will we fall into wrongdoing?
Common has little value (those that fall prey to the flesh and do what most others do).
Rare is priceless (those that can withstand the storms and temptations of life, and do what is right because it is right).
Imagine that we are in a flour sifter in God’s kitchen, and we are being shaken around. This shaking represents our trials in life.
Almost everyone has a uniform soul profile - smooth and round - they are the ones who fall right through. They are legion. Common.
The ones that are not common - meaning their soul profile is unique - do not fall because they do not fit through the holes in the sifter. They are rare and special.
God is literally panning for gold.
Be ordinary and make choices based on what feels good to the flesh (gluttony, lust, wrath, envy, greed, sloth, pride) - just like almost everyone - and you end up falling through the sifter.
Be unique and make choices based on what is right (humility, charity, chastity, gratitude, temperance, patience, diligence), and you do not fall. You are the gold left after the soot has fallen.
God has given you an exceedingly minute moment on this earth to prove yourself through your good deeds, and in doing so gain everlasting life in heaven. Your century here is a mere speck on the endless horizon of eternity, and by using that precious time to focus on and peruse earthly pleasures - rather than being a force for good - you are making an incredibly bad bargain with what you would stand to gain otherwise.
Yes, your time here barely registers in the context of forever, but what you do during this time is extraordinarily important in the context of your soul.
Make the choice to be the gold. That is all it takes. And then go on to live with God.
Be the type of soul He wants to surround Himself with and you will not have to seek Him - He will seek you.
For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
—James 2:26
7 deadly sins front and center Tritorch. I also noticed, there is so much greed and avarice and self advancement , many are not interested in laying their life down for another . John 15:17 . We live in very evil times .
Most people just hang out. What is important in this is what you do and how you react without thinking, and what you do when no one is looking. Tests of your true self.