James 2:10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it NIV
It racked my brain for the longest time, but I knew that my classmate Brian was a more decent person than I was. He was a friend of the environment, a lover of all people, a drug free activist and stood up for anti-nazi movements around the world. He was the kind of guy that Ghandi and Mother Theresa would give a high five to. In comparison, Brian was much more decent than me and better at being a good person. I was the Christian Bible bumper at the time. I had the faith and all the Bible knowledge one could muster, but none of it ever came into my life the way Brian showed it.
One problem, I considered myself in a relationship with God, but Brian was stonecold against that. He didn't want any part of God in his life and he kindly excused the discussion if it was brought up. I tried to share my faith in little amounts, but he clearly wouldn't have it.
Now let me take you to current time where I am sitting in a Bible study listening to a video of Nooma, Rob Bell. The young pastor of a mega church is calmly telling his viewers that God expects us to be loving and good people, similar to Jesus. At the moment, I am thinking in my mind. "Brian is all set." All those times I tried to share the persona of Christ and the precepts of Christianity were in vain. In fact, by the very definition that we are called to be loving and good, Brian was better off than me. He was way more active, nicer and less judgmental. Perhaps he was the kind of guy that Jesus would high five.
I used to think that Christ was ONLY for people who were hopeless, depressed and reeking in sin. The kind of people who dug so far down that the life of Christianity is better by comparison. But that statement is devoid of one simple fact: "those who break one simple law, are guilty of breaking all of it." That is written in James 2:10, one of the biggest essays in favor of the need for Christ's grace. What does that mean exactly?
Imagine a banquet in a beautiful mansion. On one end of the table is a good and decent man. He's the kind of guy who knows where his salad fork goes, drinks tea with his pinky raised and dabs his mouth with a napkin after every bite. Then on the other end is a total slob. He needs a bib just to eat salad, makes loud belching sounds and eats steak with his hands. Now just using those facts, who is the more exquisite eater? Not hard to guess. But, if the slob has a relationship with the owner of the mansion and is good friends with him, he should be in the good graces of the owner. On the other hand if the polite eater, makes one mistake like dropping his napkin, squeaking his chair, putting his dessert fork on the wrong side of the plate, he has no where to go. Even the simplest mistake means he is an unfit guest at the table.
That's the point. According to scripture if your only sin is one mistake, you have nowhere to go for salvation. You can't suffice with a 99% grade average when the teacher is looking for a 100%. So, I no longer feel bad for those who need Christ and those who think they are nice enough to get by. I know that my nasty habits will always be forgiven by the grace of a perfect God. I have a relationship with God and that means so much more than anyone's human endeavor to be good. It means redemption, it means sanctification, it means second tries and ultimately it means I am set for life.
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