The Savior says the following at the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount, just before he gives the parable of the wise man and the foolish man:
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
At the time, that was probably music to the ears of many of His followers, who struggled to accept the condescending teachings of the Pharisees. Reading it now gives me pause personally. He’s not describing people who are far from the fold or those who have intentionally walked away. He’s talking about people who have been obediently following Him and have missed the mark. He describes people who profess to know Him, people who think they’ve built on the rock. People who are surprised to find out that the actions they’ve been performing all along are not totaling up to the end result they’d hoped for. And if I’m reading it right, we can perform all those actions and not even be in line with the Father’s will. How can that be? Again, as a seeker of the Savior, I think there are crucial things I can learn when I accept that I could be among those people who end up a bit surprised when they are face to face with Christ. If I am unwilling to entertain that thought, I think I run the risk of missing Him altogether.