By all accounts, I’m a good person. A good man.
I’m highly educated.
I have been married to the same lady for 33 years with no previous marriages.
I have three grown children and a grand girl. While my son is currently disabled, my two daughters both have college degrees and are working in their fields.
I have been involved in acts of charity and giving to individuals in need.
I have stood up for just causes in the world.
I have been the voice of reason in a storm of insanity.
I have obeyed the law and stood for the authority and justice.
But. . .
By all accounts, none of that matters.
Without the work of one man, Jesus Christ, by all accounts, I don’t measure up. Without His redemptive work in my life, everything “good” shatters when held up to His righteousness.
Without the work of Jesus, I’m not a good man.
Without the work of Jesus, I squander my education.
Without the work of Jesus, I cheat, lie, swindle. . .and boast about “getting away with it.”
Without the work of Jesus, my children and grandchildren are abandoned and unloved. . .and more are created without care.
Without the work of Jesus, I am selfish and think only of myself.
Without the work of Jesus, I blindly support what is easiest for me and gets me the most in this life.
Without the work of Jesus in me, by all accounts, I am worthless.
Without the work of Jesus, my heart is bent toward sin, self-justification, and selfish gain. . .in all ways, measures, and methods.
But because of Jesus, I am counted saved.
Because of Jesus, I am redeemed.
Because of Jesus, I am known and loved.
Because of Jesus, I am seen with mercy.
Because of Jesus, I am sustained by grace.
Because of Jesus, I am given hope.
Because of Jesus, I am not defined by my failures.
Because of Jesus, I am being transformed.
Because of Jesus, I am being made holy.
Because of Jesus, His goodness flows through me.
Because of Jesus, my shame is not my story.
Because of Jesus, my past is not my master.
Because of Jesus, I have eternal life with the Creator of all that is.
. . .By all accounts, anything good in me is because of Jesus.
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