Mt 19:16  Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?"

  

Yesterday we thought about the question, do we know God as the Lord who is utterly faithful to His word? It is worth remembering that in the light of this verse today. So many Christians still try to impress God for their salvation. This young man came to Jesus and asked what good things must he do to win eternal life. He equated earning everlasting life with goodness. How could he express his goodness in such a way to prove to God that he was worthy of receiving eternal life?

 

Many today still equate goodness with getting God's approval or God's salvation. Now once we become a Christian then God is concerned with our activities because they are an indication of how open to Him we are, and the more we are the more He can bless us. But these ‘good works' are not a means of achieving our salvation, that comes through an entirely different way. We are justified or put right with God, not by doing good things but simply by believing in Jesus, by believing that he has been God's method of dealing with our sin and making us right with Him. Jesus dying on the Cross completely finished the work of God dealing with our sin. We cannot add any more to that work; all we can do is receive it, and that starts by believing God when He says He's done it and it is now all ready for us to enter into. So today, don't try to impress God. Instead just love Him and enjoy His love for you.