“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
I came across one of John Powell’s books recently that I had bought at a little used bookstore. It had been tucked away and I had failed to read it. It didn’t take long to become totally involved with Mr. Powell’s writing.
He told of a trip that he had taken to Germany a few years ago. The cleaning lady assigned to his room was an elderly woman who worked relentlessly to clean every nook and cranny. Every time he left the room, she cleaned it, not just a superficial cleaning. She would wax the floors and polish the furniture.
On one occasion when Mr. Powell left for a short walk, he came back to find “Schwester” on her knees, putting a final sheen on her waxing job. He laughingly teased her: “You work too much!” The woman straightened up, still kneeling, and looked at him sternly, bordering on severity, and said, “Heaven isn’t cheap, you know!”
Powell concluded that more than likely she was educated to believe that life was supposed to be an ordeal, the price of eternal bliss, that heaven must be bought and it is not cheap.
Do you believe goodness will secure your place in heaven someday? Many good, honest people believe God tends to favor people when they are “good”. Thank goodness, the Bible says God’s love is not dependent upon my actions. It is 100 percent a gift.
However, there is not much value placed on what some people might call a “freebie”. We want to earn it. Then we can pat our self on the back and say, “Look what I’ve accomplished.” As for salvation, God’s son did it all. No one can boast. As the cleaning lady said, “Heaven isn’t cheap.” However, the price has already been paid.
The Bible teaches us to love others, to be joyful, to be at peace, to be kind, good and patient. But this lifestyle is the result of having Jesus Christ in our life, not to earn His love and acceptance. His wild, crazy, never-ending, life-changing-unconditional love for us makes us want to please Him.
As for perfection, He is that for us! All He wants is a relationship with us. In the process of that relationship, we change! We cannot help it! That is what unconditional loves does for humans.
