That I May Know Him

And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. ~ 1 John 5:20 (KJV)

Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? Jeremiah 23:29

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Lessons from a Housewife

Most housewives like for their homes to be clean, and I, for one, am one of those who takes great pleasure in knowing that my house isn't just clean, but spotless!  I love for our bedroom to be neat and tidy, for the bathroom to look and smell good, for the kitchen to be absolutely spotless and for our living room to be as tidy as one can hope for (seeming that it's mostly a man's domain). 

The other day, as I was dusting our bedroom dresser, I knelt down to pick up I'm not sure I remember quite what, and I when I got back up on my feet, the sun had starting shining through our window and to my dismay, I noticed more dust on our dresser!  I couldn't believe it.  After all, I had just got done with dusting it and I had made sure to wipe away every spec! It was then that the thought came to me.  God's word says the following:

"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags..." Isaiah 64:6

God's word also tells us that not any one of us is "good" (Psalm 14:3) and that we are all sinners (Romans 3:23).  We always want to measure ourselves up to man's standards, however, in God's standards, not anyone of us stands a chance, for He is a Holy and Perfect God. We sometimes think we are good because we haven't committed any of the "BIG" sins, such as adultery, theft or murder.  But God the Father is a holy and righteous Judge and there is no such thing as "little" or "big" sins according to His Law.  In fact, James 2:10 says the following:

"For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all."

The only one that can measure up and has measured up to God's holy standards is God Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ.  He was born of a virgin and entered into this world through a holy birth and lived a holy life.  You see, it was important and urgent for Him not to commit sin.  The devil tried to tempt Him into offending God's law, but He endured it all and never once sinned.  Our Lord Jesus came to live and die and offer Himself up as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.  Had He committed even the slightest of sins, He couldn't be a perfect sacrifice for us. But thankfully, He endured it all, even the mocking of man, and gave Himself up as a perfect sacrifice so that we could all be saved and justified in God's eyes. 

So we know that we are no good and cannot keep God's law, but there is one that is good and has kept God's law, and that's the Lord Jesus Christ.  So what we must do is realize that we are sinners and guilty before God and repent and ask for His forgiveness.  It's that simple!  Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31) and confess Him as your Saviour (Romans 10:10) and ask Him to give you eternal life. 

Once you receive Him as your Saviour, God the Father looks upon you and sees His perfect and holy Son through you and in His eyes you are absolutely guiltless. It's just as though you are perfect - not that you are - but it is Jesus Christ in you who is perfect.  And even though  you will still come short of God's glory each and every day, you will always be God's Son but you will notice that now your sins will start bothering you and you won't like or want to live the way that you did before.  That's conviction - it's God telling you "you shouldn't have done or said that!"  Thankfully, we serve a good and merciful God and when we do come short of His glory, we can claim 1 John 1:9:

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

It's amazing the things that God can reveal to us in the simplest of things to remind us of how good and how great a Saviour He is.  I'm so thankful that the Lord Jesus Christ ransomed Himself for me and made eternal life so easy to obtain.  Having eternal life is simple - it's just a matter of what you do with God's Son.  Do you accept the Lord Jesus Christ or do you reject Him?  Your answer to that question will determine where you will spend eternity.