03/29/11 You can't buy Heaven

There’s a subtle mindset that’s pervasive, insidious and all wrong.

It begins often with love, sincerity, trust, and all good intentions.

But life happens.

The initial glow of new love, freedom, forgiveness, and security sooner or later fades and that is where truth appears.

It depends on who you are with, who has taken you in and loved you, who – if anyone – has come along side you and discipled you.

Looking around it seems like the superficial illusion is all that’s left.

I found myself in this.

My heart content to be in control of my destiny by being ‘good’ and living an appearance of a Christ like life.

But you can’t buy heaven.

If you truly seek Him there will be truth.

Even after one gives their heart to the Lord the temptation to just join the club and do your time, as it were, is very strong.

And there are lots of ways to appease any soul guilt – from an uneasy feeling of lack of closeness with the Saviour – with works.

One can be buried in a mountain of things to do – good works – and be as lonely and isolated as someone in solitary confinement.

Without truth and community and face to face honesty with someone who is willing to invest in your life it will all fade into religion and legalism.

Lots of teaching out there about ‘knowledge’ and study and the like.

But the book is just words on pages without the relationship.

And after all, what He designed us for is relationship.

What He wants, has always wanted is simply to be a family (a healthy true family) with us.

How insulting it is to assume that we are doing God a favor by sitting in the nursery, shaking hands, singing in a choir, or any other church chore.

Could we not simply pay a band, hire a sitter, etc....

Yeah

He loved us enough to sacrifice – a painful deplorable humiliating sacrifice – Jesus as an exchange of our inability to be near Him. 

And Jesus loved the Father enough to give His life so that He could commune with us again.

Each giving the ultimate – atonement paid.

And we whine about the color of the carpet in the building we are supposed to be worshiping in.

He does not want our works.  He wants our lives.  Yes obedience is better than sacrifice, but even better than obedience is love.

He wants our love.

And out of that love we are to serve Him.

All the rest of what we do, who we are, is useless.

I would rather do what I want to do than to delude myself into thinking I’m ok by working to be good.

That’s just the honest truth.

I’m not sure where that leaves me.

But I think I’m better off being ‘out of control’ and seeking to be near the one that loves me.

Because one thing I know for sure....

You can’t buy heaven.