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 (NIV)
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 (NIV), “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 (NIV) 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 (NIV), “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 for 45 years. They have been blessed with eight grandchildren from
their two sons and their wives. She serves Oakwood on the prayer chain.
