Have I Done Enough?

Q. Thanks for your wonderful site.  My wife and I have been ‘saved’ and filled with the Holy Spirit for the past 23 years.  Recently she has become concerned about what God ‘thinks’ of her and whether she is measuring up to his standards. 

We both live reasonably conservative lives, pray regularly,read the bible, help others, etc.  However whilst my wife and I know that we’re not saved by works, she is concerned that God will be ‘angry/upset/etc’ with her for not achieving much in her life (from a Godly Christian perspective) and perhaps she may therefore not ‘make it into heaven’.

What would you say to someone who thinks this? My wife often mentions scriptures such as the parable of the talents (i.e. is she wasting her talents) ?, should she be doing ‘more’ to advance the kingdom of God, etc.

A.  There’s not a single verse in the Bible that conditions entry into heaven on things we’ve done to earn it. A careful reading of the Parable of the Talents for instance will show you that it tells of the judgment of tribulation survivors after the Lord’s return.   It also has nothing with any gift, skill, or ability we have.

Think about this. How could it be called our Blessed Hope if we’re constantly worried about whether we’ve done enough to deserve it?

Here’s a link to my study on The Parable Of The Talents.