“Not by works of
righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by
the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;” - Titus 3:5
So many people think that if
they live with a loving and kind attitude, their place in heavenly eternity is
guaranteed. If they are good enough, God is required to let them into heaven.
What is good enough? Does this mean that I am better than my neighbor;
therefore, I am good enough? If it were possible to earn our way to heaven,
then Christ would not have needed to die on the cross to pay the penalty of our
unholy deeds. What if the next person I meet is better than I am? What happens
to my goodness then?
We cannot be good enough, holy enough or spiritual enough to deserve God’s
love. If the Christian walk depended on our good works, then we would have no
need for Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. Jesus died because we can never be
good enough to earn God’s love (Ephesians
2:8-9). It is only when we come to the
end of self-effort and understand that we can never live up to the Biblical
standard of perfection (Matthew 5:48)
that we give up our struggle with sin and turn to the Lord for Salvation.
When we stop trying to be good in and of ourselves, when we rest in Jesus, then we start trusting Him to live the Christian life in and through us. We are no longer living under condemnation with a fear of failure (Romans 8:1), but in the glorious resurrection life of the Son of God (John 11:25). Once we arrive in this place of union with God (John 15:5), we can allow the peace and the joy of the Holy Spirit to fill us to the point of saturation in our soul (mind, will and emotions) and spirit. We bask in the Sonshine of His love. Then, we look forward to Heaven with a continuation of our intimate union with Jesus that we start right here on earth (Colossians 2:9).
Jesus completed the work of our perfection on the cross. Now we only need
to walk in His grace (1 Corinthians 5:10). Failing in one area of
our life opens us up to the possibility of success in another. We may lose a
battle in our daily life, but Jesus already won the war 2000 years ago on
Calvary’s cross.
God only promised us this moment in which we are drawing our current breath of air. We are not guaranteed the next breath! Therefore, give your prayerful attention to the moment as God gives it to you to enjoy. Fully living in the present moment is the best way to stay in tune with the Spirit of God. By doing this, we live in awareness of His presence in our lives and we follow the leading of His Holy Spirit throughout the day.
It is hard to stop striving in our human self-effort (Psalm 46:10). Some people find this impossible to do! The only effort we are to exert in life, however, is to enter God’s permanent vacation from the stress-filled life (Hebrews 4:11). As
we seek His will and walk in His wisdom, His Spirit leads us moment-by-moment
throughout the day. We see Him face to face, and we enjoy complete intimacy
with our Father God through His son, Jesus Christ (Exodus 33:11). It's like living on a permanent vacation!
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, You give us Your unconditional love freely as a gift (John 3:16). We only have to open our hearts wide to receive Your riches of wisdom and grace (Romans 11:33). Please help everyone to realize the truth of this concept, and to feel Your love cascading over them like a waterfall.
Thought for the Day
Salvation is not dependent on our human works, but on Christ’s completed work on the cross.
Thanks for the use of your photo, Matt. See more of Matt Milligan's photos at: http://www.mattmilliganphotography.com/
