You’re a good person.
These were words said to me recently after I offered to do something for a friend, that most people wouldn’t offer to do. What I offered to do fell through, for reasons out of my control. But these are words a Christ follower hate to hear, because if you are a Christ follower and are like me, when I get to heaven and God says “you were a good person”… I would probably die right there, like literally.
Because being a good person doesn’t get you into heaven, and that is a truth that a lot of people do not want to hear or believe.
Last week I shared a story about an ornament that I had gotten a friend. And one of my readers shared a truth with me that I wasn’t even thinking of at the time.
She wrote to me “that second broken one was meant for you . I know parts of your story, and you too are broken, but as we all know God takes our broken places and fixes them with His love. Will we ever be perfect? Absolutely not, because if we were we would have no need for Him. BUT, when the third one arrived, He was perfect, just like our Lord and Saviour Jesus.”
A few weeks ago I was at a store, and the sales person was telling me why they decided not to be a Christian anymore. There was a lot about Christianity that she didn’t like. That moment broke my heart. She was so nice. But I believe there is a heaven and a place of eternal darkness, and I believe that the only way to heaven is by believing and following in God’s only son, Jesus.
“But nothing unclean will ever enter it (the Kingdom of heaven), nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” Revelation 21:27
We will all kneel before God one day, and He will judge us for things that we have done, and well for the things that we have done. And when I get to judgement day, I want to bow down at His throne in praise because He is who He said He was. But it pains me to know that there will be a number who kneel before Him having not believed that He is who He said He was, and kneeling before Him having chosen not to follow Him because they didn’t like His truth.
What this comes down to, plain and simple, is whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. It is the book that contains a record of the one’s who are in line to receive the gift of eternal life, because they lived a life devoted to following Jesus. Those who are clothed in white, and blameless in His eyes because of His blood shed for them. His blood cleansing them, and making them as white as snow. Pure. Spotless. Their sins and transgressions no more. His bride before Him, whose name will never be erased from the book of life, because their place was sealed when they believed.
I remember being terrified by some of the things that were written in His word, especially Revelation. There are things that can be hard to understand. But God doesn’t ask us to understand everything. He just wants us to believe in the power of His love, and trust that His ways are perfect.
“It was a perfect sacrifice by a perfect person to perfect some very imperfect people.” Hebrews 10:14, The Message
That sacrifice began on Christmas. When God sent His son, to be born in a manger fit for the King. He came not to judge the world, but to save it. It was a gift that wasn’t wrapped with ribbons and bows and placed under the tree. But a miracle baby, born of a virgin, wrapped in swaddling cloth, and placed in a manger. The perfect gift, given out of love.
And so on Christmas, we remember His love. That He so loved the world that He sent His only son, Jesus, to be the perfect sacrifice to spare us from the things that keep us separated from God, and for those who would believe in Him to spend eternal life in a place where there is no darkness.
Back to the deer. So now my two deer are next to each other. The broken one, that was krazy glued back together, that from a step back looks perfect. You have to look close to realize that it is in fact broken. And the perfect one right next to it. A reminder that Jesus is always with us, besides us, even in the brokenness. But He came to mend the broken, so we can stand before Him blameless and pure.
