A King's Pardon

People will ask the same thing over and over: “What do I have to do to get into heaven?” They want a neat little plan. Do x, y, and z, not a, b, and c. They want definitive answers as to what will get them onto that list of righteous people. Those specific actions that if they avoid or perform will gain them that little stamp that says “approved” when they stand at the pearly gates. Unfortunately for these people, no such list has ever existed or will ever exist.

People are sinful creatures. There is no way to get around this fact. Everything we do apart from God is selfish and tainted in sin. Even one sin, thought, act or otherwise, is enough to keep you from heaven. There is no balance sheet that says you did two more good deeds than bad ones, so in you go. God does not say “Well ok, I guess you did help the orphanage once. I can forget that little scuffle with your brother.” The gates of heaven open only for the righteous. A righteous man has never sinned, not even once. He does not say “Well, compared to THAT guy I am ok. I mean I never killed anyone or stole or something like that.” because he knows that we are judged by God's standard and not that of man. We are not judged based on our righteousness relative to other men. We are judged based on our righteousness compared to God. A test that everyone fails. There is no good deed that can be performed. No profession of faith that can be proclaimed. No action or thought that can rid us of sin and make us righteous again. Our debt of sin is immense and heavy. An impossible burden we cannot hope to even begin to pay. For what could we offer God in exchange for our souls? We are running on a treadmill and God is on the other side. On our own, we have no way to reach Him. No matter how hard or fast we run, our power is not enough.

But all is not lost. God will not abandon his beloved children. He stands at the other end of his child running on that conveyor and reaches out to them. He grabs their hand and pulls them to the other side. God forgives us our sin. He pardons our debt and lifts the weight from our shoulders. He makes us righteous again where we cannot. Out of love He sent His own son to live and die for us. To bear the pain and suffering in the lake of fire that should have been ours. To be rejected and cast down in our place, and then to rise again in victory over death. God did not leave us to our fate. He did not turn His back on us and reject us. He will not fail to reach one He chooses to save. To those whom He reaches out, He always holds close. And He will never cast down one once lifted. We may not be able to pay our debts. We may not be strong enough to vanquish the enemy. But God is stronger than any man, and He will pardon us our sin.

-BlackFox

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