Does Jesus grade on a curve?

John 10:7-10

 Many have made jokes about “I hope God grades on a curve,” in fact, that thought fits well in our culture.  We are a society that compares our actions to others and believes that our actions only have to exceed our neighbors to set us in good standing with God.  In fact, this is a line that is often stated, “I’m much better that my neighbor who is always at church.”  I believe we would be wise to explore this thought-process in light of John 10, where Jesus says that He is the good Shepherd, and that many of us will try to enter the sheepfold door by some other way other than Him.

I’ve wondered, why would we do such a thing, is receiving the free gift of grace by faith that distasteful?  I do believe that it is for many because it requires one to come into an agreement with God that they are sinful and God is Holy.  The Nobel Prize winning author, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, describes the universal reality of evil when he writes: “Gradually it was disclosed to me that the line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either—but right through every human heart . . .And even in the best of all hearts, there remains . . . an un-uprooted small corner of evil.” (The Gulag Arc hipelago, Vol. 2, p.597)  That is why Christ took on human form and came as our substitute, because God required a blood payment for sin, and Jesus became that payment.  If you’re in doubt of God’s requirement go to Hebrews 9:22, “Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.”

Could a God, who says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep”, insult our progressive society?  And goes on to state,  “All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.  I am the door.  If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.”  You must ask the question, why is this offensive to our enlightened culture, and it may be that Jesus has called all other ways to God as foolish and powerless to attain a personal relationship with the Father.  But Jesus goes further, not only does He promise eternal life but life in the full right now!

If we go to the next verse, John 10:10, we find that the enemy of our soul is referred to as the thief that comes only to steal and kill and destroy, but Jesus said, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”  It is your choice, blessing or curses, life or death, and it is not a new choice; we find in Joshua 24:14-15, that the people coming out of Egypt had to choose, the gods of the world, or the Lord God.  And for me, like for Joshua, “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

http://fromourbackporch.blogspot.com/