Don'ts and Do's

As seen in the HEARTbeat and the Village Voice

“Don’ts and Dos”

            Think back to when you were young and new parents.  The same would hold true for you grandparents keeping the toddler grandchildren for the first time.  What was the one word you used the most?  “NO!”  It seems we don’t tell kids what they can do, we only tell them what they CANNOT do!  What a way to learn!

            Just think about it, humans learn how to do things from doing things we shouldn’t, or maybe things that don’t work.  I clearly remember, “Doug, don’t stick that screwdriver in the wall outlet!”  I was helping my father replace some electrical outlets when I was too small to really help.  I only thought I was helping.  Since I learned how not to do things from the outcome of notorious acts, you can guess what I did next.  Yep, into the electrical outlet went the screwdriver.  My first experience with electricity was not good and it left a lasting impression with all the sparks and sounds!!!  You laugh, but admit it – you’ve learned some hard lessons too!

            One of the greatest inventors of our time is Thomas Edison.  Many consider him a genius, as he seemed to pull ideas for new inventions out of thin air.  But he wasn’t as successful as one might think.  He failed multiple times, so many it was impossible to keep count.  But it wasn’t the successes that defined him, it was his failures!  When he finally and successfully invented the light bulb, he was quoted as saying, “I have not failed 10,000 times—I’ve successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work.”

            Try as we may, we cannot enter the beauty of Heaven at the end of this life on our own.  You cannot do good work after good work.  You cannot speak kindly and gently to every person you meet.  You cannot think only good and wonderful things, never thinking a harsh word or negative thought.  Good people are great, but just being good WILL NOT get your ticket punched to enter Heaven!

            Jesus was spending His last evening with His closest friends, the apostles.  They were aghast when Jesus washed their feet, troubled when He said a betrayer was among them, and even told Simon Peter he would deny even knowing Him three times before the sunrise.  Certainly, these are a bunch of “don’ts.”  But then Jesus gave them some “dos.”  He said, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

            There is no way we can live absolutely, perfect lives.  Even if we could, it wouldn’t be enough.  In the old covenant, the shedding of blood was required for the forgiveness of sin.  But there was no perfect sacrifice, hence the yearly ritual.  Jesus was and is the only perfect sacrifice.  When we accept what He did for us, call Him our savior, our friend, our brother, we find the only way there is into Heaven.  He paid the price, and He is the only way.

            DON’T live according to this world. DO accept Christ’s offering for you and live with Him forever!