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 46 years. Their two married sons have blessed
them with eight grandchildren.
