The Everyday Club

10/27/10    Sherri,    about 50
Today I went out to witness with John, who recently started attending my church. I enjoyed getting to know him better between short conversations with people at the IIT campus near his house. One person we talked to was Sherri, who had gone outside for a break from her job for a smoke. Sherri considered herself to be a good person and worthy of heaven because she is "not a druggie, and I've raised three great kids". She confidently took my "good person test" based on the Ten Commandments and was, in fact, "good" - at least compared to many people, but I challenged her to realize that God's standard doesn't compare us to other people but to his own perfect law, "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it." (James 2:10) She wondered about this, so I used a glass of water as an analogy - "It could be 99% pure but if someone spit in it we sure wouldn't drink it, and in the same we can't expect God to allow us to heaven just because we think we are good enough" I went on to answer some other questions she had, planting some seeds of truth to remind her not to trust in her own goodness but in the forgiveness that only comes through faith in Jesus.