Friday, April 18, 2014

What counts and what doesn't

Because the sinless savior died,
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.

Wouldn't be much of a stretch to suggest that these three days, the Friday of Christ's
death on the cross to Easter Sunday with the most important event in the history of mankind, the resurrection, are so very important.

So with that in mind, what is important and what not in the whole justification and
salvation of those belonging to Christ Jesus? As hard as it is for some to grasp and
understand, Christ, not we, achieved atonement for us; it IS by grace alone and through
faith in Jesus that we may, one day, stand before a Holy God and be invited in as a
son or daughter. We didn't do anything deserving, we didn't accomplish anything that
would merit being saved, we haven't done or said anything that warrants the greatest
gift ever given.

So what doesn't count? (in no particular order)....  the size of your bank account, the
latest credit rating, number of college degrees, notches on your belt, friends. the square
footage of your home, number and quality of automobiles you own, organizations to
which you belong, annual salary, number of hits on twitter, Facebook, etc. Size of
your plasma TV, amount you tithe, how you dress for church, where you sit in church,
favorite sports team and its success, your I.Q., amount of giving to charity, places you
have vacationed, body fitness, health status, good deeds you have done, kindness
you have shown, how you are perceived by others, books that you have read....

Obviously I could go on and on. the key, here, is that there simply isn't anything that
we can "bring to the table" when it comes to our own justification. 

So what does count? I'll start with something related to the above. We simply
have to recognize our own personal need for a savior. Nothing gets done until we
take to our knees and understand that we can't really control anything related to
God's willingness to accept us. We are unclean and sinful! Without Christ our future
is dim. We need to love God and others, the crux of Jesus statement about the
most important commands. We need to do this without expectation of any
related rewards, solely in appreciation and gratitude for what has been given us.
We need to forgive others because, yep, we have been forgiven! We need to be
ever aware of the darkness of Satan and his desire to heighten our pride and head
us in the horrible direction of rejecting God. 

It is a happy and blessed Easter because Christ has risen, defeating death, the devil
and granting to those who he tends, the gift of everlasting life in the presence of a
glorious sovereign God!

Happy Easter, everyone!!!

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