THINK TOGETHER
Have you ever been warned about something dangerous? What was it?
READ TOGETHER
One of the most important things that the Bible contains is warnings about the things that can hurt us. And there’s a warning in the book of Proverbs that is so important that it’s writtne down twice – in two different places. Here it is:
Proverbs 14:12. There is a way that appears to be right,
but in the end it leads to death.
Proverbs 16:25. There is a way that appears to be right,
but in the end it leads to death.
So what is God warning us about here? He’s warning us that there is a way to live that can look very good, but it is actually very, very bad. Something can “appear to be right,” but it can actually lead to death. Yes, dying on the outside physically, but also dying on the inside (sadness, anger, or shame).
When King Solomon wrote these words he might have been thinking about Adam and Eve. Do you remember the sin they committed in the Garden of Eden? They chose to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, which “appeared” to be the right choice, but it actually was a rejection of God and his love, and resulted in death entering into them. Knowing how to choose between good and evil on our own can seem right, but it might actually be a way to ignore God, or to tell God that you don’t need him. And when we try to live without God, it always, always, always, leads to death.
It’s very easy to think that we have to be really well behaved in order to please God. Maybe you think that the more good things you do, the more God will love you. Or if you can go a whole day without doing anything bad, then God will be happy with us.
But this is a way to live that “appears to be right,” but is actually very wrong. You see, God doesn’t want us to try to be good in order for him to love us more. God wants us to know that he loves us no matter what, and THEN we can be good because we trust God’s love, not because we are trying to earn his love.
And that’s why God sent Jesus to us – to prove that he loves us no matter what. And to show that what pleases him is to simply trust him. And to show that we can trust him because he died for us even before we ever did anything good.
And that is how we get God’s life, by faith, not by our good works.
For many people, trusting in Jesus does not “appear to be right.” Sometimes people can’t understand that God would do everything for us, dying for us on the cross in our place. Sometimes people think that trusting in God’s grace seems wrong – too easy, too simple, too free. They can’t understand the idea of being given heaven for free without having to earn it with good behavior. They think that this kind of grace is not fair. Shouldn’t people have to earn their way to heaven? Aren’t we supposed to get what we deserve? And so they go back to trying to earn heaven and earn God’s love and acceptance. But this is a way that leads to death. Why? Because it rejects God’s grace.
Don’t make this mistake. Don’t reject God’s grace. Don’t try to be good to get to heaven. Trust God and trust Jesus. Trust in his death on the cross for you alone. Faith in Jesus alone will give you life. Eternal life in heaven, and a life of peace and love here on earth right now.
Because of Jesus we don’t have to earn our way to heaven, we can simply trust in him.
With Jesus we can have peace and love in our life right now.
DO SOMETHING TOGETHER
Use the movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to illustrate how what we think seems “right” to us can actually lead to death. Here one scene you can use:
PRAY TOGETHER
Jesus,
I’m so glad that I don’t have to earn my way to heaven, because I never could do that. Help me to trust that you love me every day no matter what.
Amen.
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