Are You Prepared To Meet God?
What Christ Has Done
A preacher was called to the bedside of a man who was seriously ill. After a few words of greeting, the minister asked, "My friend, are you prepared to meet God if you don't recover from this sickness?"
"I think so," was the reply. "I've always given generously to worthy causes, and I've been a good father and a faithful husband."
"But my dear friend that will never get you to Heaven!"
"Oh, but I have many other good works to my credit," protested the man. The preacher realized he needed to puncture the balloon of this sinner's self-righteousness, so he changed his line of questioning. "Tell me," he said. "What do you think people do there?"
"Well, they're occupied with the things of God, and I guess they sing a lot!"
"Ah," said the preacher, "I'm glad you mentioned that." Opening his Bible to Revelation 5, he pointed out that the song of the redeemed was all about Jesus and His wondrous atonement. "Notice, there's not one word about the saint's accomplishments," explained the minister. "Nothing you've told me fits into this picture. You've talked about what you have done, but the inhabitants of Glory speak only of what Christ has done!"
Suddenly the man saw the folly of trusting in his own goodness. Looking to the Lord for salvation, he found peace in believing. When he died, his greatest comfort was found in these words: "...Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood." (Rev. 1:5b)