Wish There Was An Exception Clause...

There is a man - I don't know his name... But I heard that this man risked his life to get a child out of a burning apartment building... He climbed three stories - broke down the apartment door - got hit in the back with fire debris - his hair caught on fire... He found the child in her mother's closet - all the way in the back... He coaxed the frightened child out... he tucked her in his shirt... He went down all the three flights of stairs.... breathing in and out the toxic smoke... He delivered the child to the paramedics that had just arrived.... Two hours later the man died from his injuries and smoke inhalation....

No one knew who this man was... One woman ventured to say, "He must be a Christian." That comment got me to thinking.... Just because someone does a good and brave thing - does that automatically make them a Christian??? There are many good people who would sacrifice their lives for others... I truly believe most people are good.... Watching TV a couple of weeks ago - I saw a bunch of strangers lifting a car that was on fire to drag a motorcyclist (they believed to be dead) out from under it... They did this because they believed it was the right thing to do... There is a good everywhere.... But does that mean they are Christians... Does it mean that they are going to Heaven???

I remember going to a funeral of a friend's dad a couple of years ago... I heard a mourner telling the widow - I'm sure he's in Heaven - He did so many good things... The widow responded - by telling the person - "Ryan would roll over in his grave if I ever said he was going to Heaven - he did not believe in God - refused to believe in God and would see it as an insult if I went around telling others that he did..." I knew Mr. Ryan and he was one of the nicest dads I had ever met... He loved his kids.. his grand kids.. He seemed to be positive - happy - upbeat... I truly enjoyed being in his presence... I believe he did not feel like something was missing from his life... He had a wonderful family - friends - a truly joyful life... He died doing what he loved to do - scuba diving in Mexico... But I can't help be sad that I won't see him when I go to Heaven.. I truly wish Heaven was obtained by good works because there would be so many more good people to celebrate with....

I guess the moral of this post is this: We cannot assume someone is a Christian because they are doing good things.. and the other side of the coin is that we cannot assume someone is not when they are doing rotten things.... We are human and I believe we have a great capacity to be good and evil... it's about the choices we make - on how to live our lives....

Heaven is only obtained by grace... Not by works.... I do wish there was an exception clause.....

Romans 11:6 And since it is through God's kindness, then it is not by their good works. For in that case, God's grace would not be what it really is--free and undeserved.