The Bad News (#72 of 365+)

Our son selected Christianity as the topic of a five-page paper for one of his classes. The assignment was due today, but he waited until Friday night to begin the outline and research. He was up
until midnight last night and then woke early this morning to put on the finishing touches. Even though I’m very disappointed that our son procrastinated the way he did, I’m so very proud of how well he defined and defended his beliefs. He highlighted two impressive facts in his paper: 1) Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of hundreds of prophecies, and 2) Eyewitnesses to the resurrection were willing to die for their testimony.

He also said that Christianity believes that there is nothing we can do to earn eternal life in Heaven. Since we are full of sin and Jesus Christ was the perfect Lamb of God (our son referred to the Passover from Judaism) then those who accept God’s free gift will spend eternal life in Heaven. That’s good news! But the bad news is those who reject Jesus Christ will spend their eternal life in Hell. He actually mentioned “Hell” in his paper. We just don’t hear that place mentioned very often anymore, in church, especially during the Christmas season. Did I mention how proud our son has made me today? He’s only a sophomore and attends a public high school. I don’t know if his teacher is a Christian but it will be interesting to see what comes of this. If he makes anything less than an “A” then I’m going to pay her a personal visit.

“What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all!... As it is written: ‘There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit… There is no fear of God before their eyes.”… No one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known… This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe” (Romans 3:9-13, 18, 20-22)

As Joni said, “Christmas is upon us and our hearts are happy as we celebrate the arrival of Jesus, God’s good news! But let’s not forget the bad news—that a heart without Christ is full of deceit. Oh, how we need Jesus; and to live rightly is to live daily in his grace. It really is all about him!”

Dear Lord, please help our son to grow in grace. Draw him closer to you every day, teach him mercy and love, and use him to bring glory to your name. Thank you for blessing our lives with his life. You have taught us so much about you as we’ve tried to parent him well. Help us to have more patience and wisdom in the next few years as he enters into manhood. In Jesus’ name. Amen.