Can you
think of something you need desperately, or might need in the future, but that
you can’t or won’t be able to afford? Right away, my mind goes to medical needs,
like medications, surgical procedures, or an extended hospital stay. Assume,
for instance, that you’re too poor to afford what will save your life, but also
too sick to work to earn an income for the payment. The only way you could get
well is if another person paid on your behalf.
So, if
another person offered to help, would you feel too proud to accept it? I hope
not! But the truth is, many people have done that to their detriment, and
others are doing it right now. I hope you’re not one of those people: time may
be running out!
This
scenario is parallel to what is happening in the spiritual world. We are all
spiritually sick, and our diagnosis, according to God, is ‘sinner’: “Everyone
has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standards” (Romans 3:23). Why
should being a sinner matter? It matters because God, the Creator, is holy and
has standards by which we should live. Unfortunately, we are unable to live by
those standards because we inherited a sinful nature from our original parents,
Adam and Eve. And with that, we have the inclination to disobey God and do our
own thing; we are all under the power of sin and death.
Do you know
you are a sinner? Are you aware of the consequences of your sins? Do you have
any idea how to get your sins paid for? The Bible tells us the consequence of
our sin is death, which is a forever separation from God (see Romans 6:23).
When Adam and Eve sinned, they were kicked out of the garden where God used to
go to visit with them; they lost that closeness with God.
There are
many who think they can win God’s favor by being ‘good,’ but if they can’t be
good all the time, 24/7, then doing good cannot be the required solution. Some
others think they can gain God’s favor through other religions, but that is not
it either. God has clearly shown us how we can be cleansed from our sins and
our broken relationship with Him restored. “God presented Jesus as the
sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe in Jesus”
(Romans 3:25). So, as we see, there’s nothing we can personally do to gain
God’s favor; we have to accept Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf.
If you are
reading this and have never asked God for forgiveness through Jesus, please do
that right now, because time is not on your side. This decision is good only if
made while alive. Nobody knows how much longer they have on earth, so take this
step and have the assurance of your sins forgiven, and that you’re adopted into
God’s family. Someday, He will welcome you into His presence.
It’s like
making a hotel reservation before a trip. No matter how late you arrive at your
destination, you’ll know ahead of time where you’ll be spending the night.
Please don’t miss this opportunity; don’t be like people who think they will do
their best now and hope it will be good enough to get them into heaven when the
time comes. But what do you think will happen when your best turns out to not
be good enough (which it won’t be)? It’ll be too late at that point to do
differently. Please let today be your day of salvation—the day you say ‘Yes’ to
God through Jesus.
Dear friend,
your eternal well-being depends on God’s forgiveness, but you cannot earn or
buy it; you can only receive it as a gift from God: “God saved {saves} you by
his grace when you believed {believe}. And you cannot take credit for this; it
is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done,
so none of us can boast about it” (Ephesians 2:8-9). I encourage you, based on
these truths from God’s Word, to call on Jesus today!
No comments:
Post a Comment