Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Good Compared to What?

“But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:21-24 NIV)

Not too long ago, a student came to me concerned about her parents. They believe they are good people.  They are religious, go to church regularly, and treat others decently.  In light of her conversion, they are wondering why they need anything more.  They believe they are good enough.  My response to her was, compared to what?

Most of us, when we are evaluating the quality of our lives, compare our lives to others.  How do we measure up to them?  Do we have more (and better?) friends?  Do we have more authority and prestige in our jobs?  When deciding if we have a successful life, we look to others by which to make that judgment.  

The same is true with the idea of goodness.  Our gauge of goodness normally is based on others.  I am good based on how other people live.  And so, by this standard, a lot of people are good and live good lives, and believe, therefore, they are deserving of a heavenly reward. Yet, this is not the measure by which we will be judged.  Our measure will be God Himself. 

We all can find people by whom we look good (sometimes really good) in comparison, but what about when we compare ourselves to God? How good do we look then?  

Today, you may think you are a good person, but compared to what? Recognize that compared to God, there is no one, not even you, that is good.  That’s why everyone needs a relationship with Jesus.  The standard for goodness is not ourselves but Him, and we fall far short of it.

© Jim Musser 2015

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