“She’s just one of
those people who has a green light to Heaven.” Those were words used to describe me
today. Of course they were words meant
to uplift and encourage and flattered as I might be, those words are so
wrong. You see I can do lots of things
that look really good, sound really good, are really good; but goodness won’t
get me into Heaven and won’t get you there either.
The Bible says that we are all sinners and we all fall short
of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Our
sin separates us from God because God is Holy and He cannot be in the presence
of sin (Isaiah 59:2 for example). Because of our sin we need a Savior. Because without a Savior we are bound for
death, “for the wages of sin is death…” (Romans 6:23). However, God didn’t leave us without hope, He
sent His one and only Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for our sins and to take
the place for us. “For God so loved the
world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him will not
perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
I’ve been reading through Titus this week and Titus 3
describes this perfectly…
“For we also
once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts
and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one
another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind
appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds we have done in righteousness,
but according to His mercy, by the washing of the regeneration and renewing by
the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our
Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according
to the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:3-7 emphasis mine).
So, yes, I DO have a “green light
to Heaven” but not because of things I have done. The only thing that can get you, or me, or
anyone, a green light into Heaven is Jesus.
He is the “Way, the Truth and the Life” and “no one can come to the
Father but through me (Jesus).” (John 14:6) The Bible Says, “If we confess our
sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). We are
also told that “whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans
10:13).
Without Jesus we have no
hope. We have no hope of anything beyond
this life. We have no hope of a life
lived with God. But with Jesus we find
hope, rest, peace, joy, salvation. If
you are looking for a “green light to Heaven” and are trying to work your way
there, stop, rest, and know that there is nothing YOU can do to get that green
light. Let Jesus work in your heart and
life, confess your sin to Him, accept His forgiveness, follow Him as your Lord
and Savior.
My kids are in to Toby Mac these
days. They put it on in the van so I’ve
been listening lately. I really like
this song. A good reminder that we all
mess up (sin) and we all need forgiveness.
I’ll leave you with the lyrics to “Forgiveness”. Will you call out to Jesus for forgiveness
today?
“’Cause
we all make mistakes sometimes
and
we’ve all stepped across that line
But
nothing’s sweeter than the day we find forgiveness
And
we all stumble and we fall
bridges
burn in the heat of it all
but
nothing’s sweeter than the day we call out for forgiveness.”
