Once upon a time....

     Once upon a time, there was a little girl. She was loved much by her parents, and always tried to please them. She always thought that being good would get her into heaven, so she tried each and every day to be good. She did all the things that were taught in the denomination where she grew up, but no matter what she did or how hard she tried, she just couldn't be good all the time. She wondered, "How many good things do I have to do before I'm considered good enough to get to heaven? When will I know that I'm good enough?" She thought about death often, even though she was very young. She had been to funerals and wondered, "If that person's soul isn't in his body, then where is it?" She had no peace, often lying awake at night, wondering where she'd end up if she passed away in her sleep.

    Time passed and eventually the little girl grew into a young woman.She had gotten tired of trying to 'measure up' when she really had no way of knowing if she was saved or not.  She decided there was no point in trying anymore and gave up. So she became very rebellious toward practically every form of authority in her life.

One day a friend asked her to go with him to talk to a preacher. She reluctantly went, wondering if this man was going to tell her more things she needed to do to try to be 'good enough'. But what she heard was nothing like she'd ever heard before! He shared Bible verses with her, and  told her that the Lord Jesus loved her so much that He paid her sin debt when He died on the cross for her sins -  and the sins of the world. (John 3:16) She had a hard time understanding that Jesus loved her - and died for her sins. How could that be? she wondered, but the preacher was very patient in explaining it all to her.  All she had to do was admit that she was a sinner. (Romans 3:23)  That was easy; she had spent the biggest part of her life trying to make up for all the wrong things she had done.  Then she had to believe that the Lord Jesus died on the cross and rose again and that His blood was shed to pay for her sins. (Romans 5:8) She believed. And she trusted Him alone for the forgiveness of her sins.  What a peace came over her! After all the years of trying to earn her salvation, she now rejoiced in what only the Lord Jesus could accomplish on her behalf.  She now knew that she was saved and kept - for eternity.

That little girl was me.

2 Timothy 1:12  "...for I know Whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day."