How Good Is Good Enough?

This weekend, Jason and I worked on installing a doggie door for Tess.  So far, she’s done a great job of letting us know when she needs to go out, but having a dedicated doggie door makes like so much easier for all of us.

The existing exterior door had glass panels at the top and the bottom.  Jason removed the bottom panel of glass and replaced it with a piece of plywood.  After that, it was my turn to make merry with the paint.

I wasn’t long into painting the new panel when I realized that the white of the door and the white of the paint didn’t match.  The door was white, but there was also a hint of yellow and gray, which wasn’t noticeable until it was next to the bright white paint.  So, I did the only thing I could do and painted the entire door, inside and out.

So many people think their works are good enough to earn them passage to Heaven.  In a world of black and white, they consider themselves and their deeds white as snow.  But are they really?  Sure, when they compare their lives to others around them, they may appear clean and right.  But what about when they compare themselves to the pure white holiness of God?  Do they still measure up?

The truth is, when compared to God, all our righteousness is as filthy rags. (Isaiah 64:6) The best we could hope to accomplish with all our good works is a dull, yellow/gray-tinted white.  And when placed next to God’s goodness, the difference is undeniable.

The only solution for our sin is to be fully covered by the blood of the Lamb, which can’t be accomplished through works. (Ephesians 2:8-9) No, it is only by trusting in Jesus Christ and his sacrifice for us on the cross that we can be saved and genuinely cleansed of ALL unrighteousness.  When that happens, Christ exchanges our filthy rags with his holy white robe of righteousness, and like the door that received a fresh coat of pain, we finally find the perfect match.

It’s good to do good, but please don’t fool yourself into believing you’re good enough for Heaven.  You’re not.  None of us is except by the blood of Jesus Christ.  He paid the debt for our sins, so we could be made clean.  All we have to do is accept it.

As the old hymn says, “Would you be whiter, much whiter than snow?  There’s power in the blood of the Lamb.”

Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. - Isaiah 1:18