The Visit
By Vernette Kureck
“He who has the Son has life, he who does not have the Son of God does
not have life.”
1 John 5:12
One cold, wintry
night, two men unexpectedly stopped by from a church we had visited. At eight
months pregnant and exhausted from work, I wasn’t in the mood for guests. We
reluctantly invited them in. Little did I know my life was about to be
changed.
After chatting, Joel
asked, “Have you come to the place where you know for certain that if you died
tonight you would go to Heaven, or is that something you‘re still working on?“
I was pretty sure
I’d go, but then Joel probed further, “Suppose you were to die tonight and
stand before God and He asked, ‘Why should I let you into my Heaven?’ What would you say?” I responded that I was basically a good
person; my good deeds certainly outweighed my bad. I’d broken some of God’s
rules, but I thought He would let me in…after all, I’d gone to church most of
my life.
We talked about
Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:48, “Be perfect, therefore, as your Heavenly Father
is perfect.” I knew I was a flawed
perfectionist, kind of like making an omelet with six eggs…five perfect and one
rotten. I saw I was hopelessly infected
with sin, just as Romans 3:23 says, “All have sinned and fall short of the
glory of God.” When I compared all of my “good” works to God’s holy standard, I
knew I was a condemned sinner.
I’m so grateful that
the Lord Jesus said, “For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
That was me.
I had known in my head that Jesus came to die on the cross for the sins
of the world, but I had never transferred that knowledge into my heart and
acknowledged Him as my Savior and
Lord.
Heaven is a free
gift that can’t be earned: “For it is by grace you have been saved through
faith- - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - - not by works,
so that no one can boast.” So by faith, I prayed that night, asking for
forgiveness of my sins and thanking Jesus for dying for me. Because He was willing to take my punishment, I could now have eternal life with
God in Heaven. I
invited Christ to take over all of my
life. In doing so, my
true spiritual journey began.
Jesus said in
Revelation 3:20, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door,
I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” That door was a picture of my heart…I am so
joyful I opened the door that night.
GOING DEEPER:
1. Have you
transferred your head knowledge to heart knowledge?
2. Is Jesus standing
at the door of your heart waiting to be invited in? If so, won’t you open the
door?
FURTHER READING:
Vernette and her
husband Ken have been married 43 years. They have been blessed with seven
grandchildren from their two sons and their wives. Vernette is Oakwood’s
Financial Secretary.
