The story is told of a runner in a marathon. He was at the back of the pack at the starting line, and he happened to turn around ... and see the finish line. It was a 26-mile circle they were running that would end up where they started. So, he turned around. "Hey, man," the runner next to him said, "the race is this way. What are you doing?" "Look," he answered, "the finish line is right there, and I'm even closest to it. I can finish this race; I can even win it." "No," his associate told him, "it's a 26-mile race." "Oh, don't be ridiculous," he retorted, "that's a crazy distance -- unrealistic, irrational, and unnecessary. I'll do it this way and come out fine in the end." He was, of course, disqualified, but here's the point. If you don't have the right starting line, you will not finish the race.
None of us are that stupid, of course ... or are we? Ask anyone. "When you die, where will you go?" If it's not "Nowhere; I'll be worm food," it will almost always be "Heaven." Why? "Well, I'm not so bad. I surely don't deserve Hell. That standard of perfection is crazy, unrealistic, irrational, and unnecessary A good God would see I'm not so bad and I'd be fine." Except ... that's not what the Bible says. The Bible says that "the wages of sin is death" (Rom 6:23). Paul explains in Romans 1 that the righteous wrath of God is revealed against our suppression of the truth about Him in our ungodliness and our unrighteousness (Rom 1:18). So our "starting line" is not "not that bad." It is "vessels of wrath prepared for destruction" (Rom 9:22). The natural human being is all fitted out for destruction under the righteous and deserving wrath of God. The distance from that to God's Heaven is much greater than 26 miles. It is infinite.
Most of us take Heaven for granted. Sure, I'll get there. I'm just not that bad. Nice thought, except it's just as foolish as that racer at the beginning. We are all a long way from "good" (Rom 3:12) and the outlook is not good. It is only the grace and mercy of God that can remedy that problem and it is only when we repent of our condition and throw all our confidence solely on the death and resurrection of Christ for our salvation that there is any hope of avoiding Hell. Don't start from the wrong starting line. It won't get you where you need to go.
2 comments:
I often wonder where non-Christians get this idea that God is love. Historically, gods have been just as bad as us, basically more powerful humans. It is only recently that a kind, loving God made his way into the world consciousness.
That would be the Christian influence felt by most Americans
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