HANGING BY A CHAIN

It is said, and rightfully so, that a chain is only as strong as it’s weakest link. Keep this in mind as I delve into an illustration of those who are trusting and/or hoping in anything else other than coming to God on His terms to save us and obtain entrance to heaven when we die. I am talking about such things as keeping God’s Commandments, trying to be a good person, doing good works, counting on the good in our lives outweighing the bad as if this is on a balance beam scale, etc.

One illustration I like to use is this: God is in heaven above, man is on earth below, and man is suspended by a chain made up of links. Hell is below man and the only thing keeping man from plummeting down into hell is the chain. The links represent God’s Commandments. Man is depending upon the chain to be used to pull him up to God in heaven. This means that man has to keep all of God’s Commandments all the time for his entire life. If man could do this God would honor it and this would work. The problem is we can’t keep God’s Commandments. We fail miserably at this starting as a little baby. So trusting in this is futile and foolish. The second we fail in keeping a Commandment that link is broken and we are doomed. This same illustration could be used with any of the other things I already mentioned above that man trusts and hopes in.

          

That is why we can’t make it on our own effort and merit. We need a Savior. God has said that “all of our righteousness is as filthy rags”. Isaiah 64:6 reads: “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” In short, we are totally bankrupt. We have nothing to offer God other than what He requires … ourselves (a completely surrendered heart and life).

What will you do with Jesus?