Only one way out

Dear friends, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Whoever loves is a child of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. And God showed his love for us by sending his only Son into the world, so that we might have life through him. This is what love is: it is not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the means by which our sins are forgiven. (verses 7-10)

Read 1 John 4:7-21

I have a computer game that involves finding your way out of a maze. In trying to get to your destination, you have to overcome many hidden obstacles that can trap you. There’s only one way out, and if you haven’t collected enough points along the way, you can’t reach your destination.

Life can be a bit like a maze. You enter the maze at birth and throughout your life you work your way towards the only way out: death. But the real destination of your life is heaven. Life is no game. It’s real, and unless you look beyond death – to heaven and how you will get there – life is useless.

This is where God steps in. He takes your hand and leads you through the obstacles. Sure, you make mistakes, but he keeps forgiving you, guiding you and loving you. And you don’t have to worry about reaching your destination. God’s Son, Jesus Christ, has beaten sin, death and the devil and has collected the points to ensure that death will be your entry into heaven. And he’ll be waiting there to meet you.

Dear heavenly Father, thank you for sending your only Son into the world to become the one sure means by which I can reach heaven and eternal life. Amen.

By Grace Bock, in “Refreshment for each day” (LCA, Openbook Publishers (2003)

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