It's Not about What We Do...

What we do for God only pleases Him when it is done with a repentant heart. A repentant heart does not seek after its own. Pride keeps us from examining our hearts to see if we are right with God.
Each one of us was born with sin. We all have lied, wanted things that weren't ours, dishonored God's name, replaced God with our love other things over Him, dishonored our parents, taken something that wasn't freely given to us, looked at people in a way that dishonors them... and the list goes on. The good news is that God gave His beloved Son as our sin offering so we could be made right and inherit eternal life if only we would repent (turn away from our sin) and trust in Him. 
In Luke 20, Jesus told a parable of a vineyard owner who left his vineyard in the care of tenants while he went to a country that was far away. When the fruit was ready to be harvested, he sent a servant to collect some of it from the tenants. The tenants dishonored the vineyard owner by beating up the servant and sending him away empty handed. So, the vineyard owner tried again. He sent a second servant and they treated him shamefully, beat him up and sent him away empty handed. The owner showed much patience and sent yet a third servant. The tenants did the same thing to this poor man. Then the owner thought maybe if he sent his own beloved son, the tenants would respect him. 
The crowd gathered around Jesus as he continued the story. The chief priests, scribes and elders listened with hardened hearts waiting for an opportunity to pounce on Jesus. Their inferiority was evident as they were growing increasingly intolerant of this man. 
In the parable of the tenants, the owner's beloved son stepped on to his father's property to collect his rightful share of the fruit. The tenants, instead of receiving him with honor, were jealous of him , hating him, and they conspired with each other about how they might receive his inheritance. They decided to kill him. They gave him no fruit, threw him off of his father's property and together, killed him. 
Jesus asked the crowd, "What do you think the owner of the vineyard will do to them? He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others." 
Jesus was speaking of Himself as God's beloved son and of some of those listening as the tenants. Many who heard this parable were aghast at the outcome of the story. 
Anyone who rejects the Son and does not bear fruit in keeping with repentance is like the hard-hearted tenants. They have no love for the owner. They only care about getting their best life right here and now. They are so filled with pride that even after mistreating God's servants and rejecting God's Son, they still think God owes them something. 
We might spend our lifetime doing back-breaking work that produces beautiful results, but if we do not give God the love, honor and glory that is due Him and if we fail to receive Jesus, it will be as nothing. Our accomplishments are only possible because of God's great provision.
The Jewish religious leaders of that day thought they did much work for God. However, their rejection of Jesus revealed their sins of pride and hatred. This and their lack of repentance for their sins led to their demise.

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