On our recent one day vacation to Corpus Christi we arrived at a point in Port Aransas where we ran out of dry land. We had to hop on a ferry to be able to get to Mustang Island. Without that ferry barge we would not have been able to get to our desired destination. Heaven is like that. A long, long time ago, an immense gap was created by man’s sin which made it impossible for anyone to go live with God. Then came Jesus. God sent Him to earth to make it possible for us to live with God when our earthly days were over. Jesus was the ferry boat that would carry all who believed and trusted in Him to the Father in Heaven. Even today, Christ is the only way to get to Heaven. He made it quite clear when He said these words: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
I don’t have an idea how far our ferry ride was but I’m pretty sure very few people would be able to swim that distance if they had to. It is amazing to me, therefore, how many people today still believe that there are many ways for a person to get to Heaven. Most of these believe that they will get there because they do good things for others or live good, decent lives. If that were the case, and people could go to Heaven by their good works, Jesus would have never suffered and died on the cross. No, He paid the price for our sin because there was no other way for us to be saved. Ephesians 2:8-9 says: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”
I love these verses, and not because our church took it’s name from it. I love them for it’s simple but mighty truth. When you give a gift to someone you love dearly, do you give it because the person deserves it or earned it? If you did, then it wasn’t a gift, but a payment. If we were to get what we really deserved, it surely wouldn’t be salvation. Also, I sure am glad that salvation is by grace. As verse nine declares, this way no one can boast. Can you imagine people what Heaven would be like if the people there would constantly be boasting about how they got there? That certainly wouldn’t be heaven to me! As it is, we all know one or two super spiritual Christians who are constantly boasting about all they do for God. If they are hard to bear here on earth can you imagine hearing that throughout eternity? That reminded me of the Sunday School teacher who asked for a show of hands for all those who wanted to go to Heaven someday. Everyone raised their hand except one Kid. When the teacher asked, “Johnny, you don’t want to go to Heaven?, he replied “Not if the rest of these brats will be there!”
God’s word for today: (2 Corinthians 9:15) “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.”
