I'm not saying that we won't be going to Heaven. I'm just saying that no one is ever going to be good enough to make it there.
I've seen a lot of posts lately where people are speaking out about the way that Christians should treat others -- whether they are also Christian or not. And obviously, a Christian should know how to act toward others -- after all, we had the greatest example who ever walked the Earth. The only man good enough to get into Heaven on his own merit. So, there must be a problem, right?
First of all, we need to all realize that just because a person goes to church, that doesn't make him/her a Christian. And, just because a person believes that God exists doesn't mean that he/she has put faith in God. (You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.) If a person is a Christian, you should see the fruits of the Spirit in their life (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control) bearing witness that he/she is in fact a child of God.
But sadly, even true Christians do bad things. Sometimes we're mean and selfish and worse. We allow ourselves to get caught up in the distractions of the world and carried away by emotions. We lose focus, and we forget what's important. Every so often we need to get re-focused.
So here's the thing, there's really only two things that Christians need to be "doing." Jesus summed it up in response to the Pharisees who wanted to hold everyone to the letter of the law. Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” If we, as Christians, are "doing" these two things then everything else will fall into place.
Love God with everything that you've got. Hold others in the same regard that you hold yourself. Simple. Perfect.
If your focus is always on God and your biggest concern is that others will have the same happiness, the same blessings and the same love that you enjoy then your actions will follow suit and you won't have to worry about whether or not you've been good enough -- you won't have to live in fear of punishment or Hell. We are not granted access into Heaven by what we do or what we don't do. We are not condemned to death or Hell because of what we do or don't do. Do you understand why? Because we can never be good enough! There is nothing we can do to right all of the wrongs we have done.
If it was up to us to earn our way into Heaven, then Heaven surely would be empty. How could you even keep score of the good things you've done versus the bad? How can you place a value on a tear, on a broken heart, on a broken spirit. Oh yeah! You'd better believe it -- we've all caused others that kind of pain and worse! And we never even know the full repercussions of our sins. Remember the ripple effect?
Thank GOD that my salvation isn't dependent upon what I do, or how good I am! By grace, God restores us into eternal life. Jesus Christ did the only thing that could ever be done to get us into Heaven by laying down His perfect life as a sacrifice to purchase God's mercy for those who love the Lord.
So, just love God with all of your heart and with all of your soul and with all of your mind. Don't stress about being good enough -- something you'll never be. Let go of the guilt when you make a mistake and draw closer to God to avoid making that mistake again. And most importantly, please don't ever let the actions of a Christian behaving badly or a person who doesn't really know or love God keep you from having a personal relationship with God and loving other people.
