He's Not Checking It Twice

"No matter what we do or don’t do here on earth, the only thing that can lead us to eternity with God is faith."

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9

“Nice List” Checklist:

• Bake cookies for the neighbors.

• Give extra generously to the people who do services for me.

• Get gifts for my kid’s teachers.

• Send cards to all my friends and family.

• Say an extra thank you, give an extra compliment, be extra kind.

Don’t we all make a list like this? A list of things we have to do to be “good”, or to be seen as kind? Sometimes it’s during the holidays, sometimes it’s just any time of the year. It’s great to do these things. Kindness, generosity, gifting and care are always a good thing.

But what happens when we don’t do the things on our list? What if we just don’t have the energy, time or resources to do all the things we feel like we should be doing? What if we’re not kind? What if we fall short of God’s plan for our lives and we live with mistakes and failures?

While doing all the things on our “nice checklist” may keep us off of Santa’s naughty list, we don’t have to do anything at all, nice or naughty, to be put on God’s list of people that are saved. We are saved through faith. No matter what we do or don’t do here on earth, the only thing that can lead us to eternity with God is faith.

“Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1 ESV). Faith is a strong belief in God, believing with all our hearts that He is who He says He is and will do what He says He will do. Faith brings us closer to God through our need to rely on Him and trust in Him. Having faith is a belief that leads us to action, causing us to do good works, but our salvation is not reliant on those good works. (James 2:20-26).

God loves us so much. More than you or me could ever imagine. Nothing we do can change that. While we actively rebelled against Him, He sent His son, Jesus, to die for us. When we mess up or make mistakes, God does not take us off of His list. He waits for us to turn back to Him and welcomes us with open arms. Also, no amount of doing good can give us extra credit with God because He loves us to the fullest, already, right now, today.

This holiday season, what kind of list are you making? What’s on your checklist? Are you doing good works for the approval of people? Or are you so focused on God that all your works are done for His glory, using your faith in Him as inspiration?

To Do List:

• Love God, love others.

• Put your faith, hope, and trust in the only One who can truly save you.

• Use your kindness to bring others to Jesus.

Written by Cathrine, mom of 4, nice list member