Being good

CS Lewis

From Mere Christianity on being good.

“Even the best Christian that ever lived is not acting on his own steam – he is only nourishing or protecting a life he could never acquire by his own efforts. And that has practical consequences. As long as the natural life is in your body, it will do a lot towards repairing that body. Cut it and up to a point it will heal, as a dead body would not. A live body is not one that never gets hurt, but one that to some extent repair itself. In the same way a Christian is not a man who never goes wrong, but a man who is enabled to repent and pick himself up and begin over again after each stumble- because the Christ-life is inside him, repairing him all the time, enabling him to repeat (in some degree) the kind of voluntary death which Christ himself carried out.

That is why the Christian is in a different position than other people who are trying to be good, to please God if there is one; or – if they think there is not- at least they hope to deserve approval from good men. But the Christian thinks any good he does comes from the Christ-life inside him. He does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us; just as the roof of a greenhouse does not attract the sun because it is bright but becomes bright because the sun shines on it.“

In my early adulthood, I was on a quest to earn God’s favor and his love, I was enrolled in college taking a pre-ministry course. My plan was to become a pastor so God would have to love me and accept me. That plan was flawed. I could not earn Gods love by being good. And As they say life happens, literally a life happened, my wife was pregnant with our first child, our son Aaron, so I left school and took over my parents Cafe. It was in the back room of the cafe, standing next to the dishwasher when I heard God speak to me the words of Ephesians 2:8-9.

“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. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Ephesians 2:8-10 – NIV

I realized that I didn’t need to become a pastor for God to love me, I didn’t need to do anything, God already loved me, and he completed my salvation through his Son Jesus and he was (is) willing ready and able to by his grace share his salvation, pour his salvation on me, over me, to cleanse me and envelope me and include me in His family.

That same grace is extended to every breathing soul on this earth. God loves us, loves you my reader. Will you accept his gift of love today? If you already have accepted his gift, will you share the good news of God’s love with one person today?

May God bless you and wrap you up in his love today.