Good or Alive?

Am I a good person? I guess if I were to compare myself to the world's standards of who a good person is, then, yes. Can I be a better person? The answer is definitely yes. However, there are more important or real questions to ask. There are deeper, richer, and truer questions to ask. What is God's desire for me? Why did he send his Son to die? Is it because I am a good person? Is it because he wanted to make me a better person? The answer to the last two questions is, No!

The answers to these questions do not lie in what I do but who I am. In all honesty, I was not born a good person. Born into a good family? Yes. In the sense that they taught me how to live morally upright. These principles were to help me be a good person, and then as I get older grow into a better person through consistent application of these principles. If these principles were enough then God would not have seen it necessary to send Jesus to die. Also, being born into a good family is helpful but it does not always results in making a person good. Neither does being into a bad family always results in making a person bad. As a friend of mine said, "Jesus did not die to make a bad person good or a good person better. He died to make us alive because we were dead."

In society's eyes and standards, I am a good person. In God's eyes, I was dead. Yes, dead. Dead in my morally uprightness. Unable to do anything to save myself. Unable to do enough good works to qualify for entry into his kingdom. Unable to live in the light. Unable to live in freedom. Just like a dead person can't do anything because there is no life, so was I. Just like a dead person is buried, rotting, and being fed on by worms, so was I. Just like a dead person is separated from loved ones, so was I. Just like a dead person is without strength, so was I.

I can do all I can to look good in the eyes of society, yet still have a wicked heart. I can spend my whole life doing good, but still not do enough. However, it is important for me to do good. My actions of doing good are essential to have and develop good relationships and interactions. In relation to society as a whole, my good actions help to make me a good member of society. I have a duty to strive to bring about and maintain the effective functioning of society.

With that said, society puts a limit on morality. Good behavior has been and is construed as relative. There are universally accepted principles, but they only go so far. We find loopholes in order not to carry them out fully. For example, I can rationalize and justify why I should not treat someone respectfully. The ultimate reason for my rationalization and justification was because I was dead, just as God said. Therefore, knowing that I am prone to such thoughts and actions, it was impossible for me to meet God's standards. God was not satisfied with me  being good and then trying to be better. Again, a dead person is incapable of living. God had to do something, and that he did without a second thought.

Now, I am alive, and fully. There was and is no half involved. Now, I have God's spirit in me equipping and enabling me to do good. It flows from the inside out. The good I am called to do is not relative or conditional, it is always true and unconditional. No rationalizations or justifications. A wonderful thing is that my life is no longer based on performance. It is not how much good I do but the life that was given for and to me. The joy of this is that I can't help but live it out. God has brought his kingdom into my life. There was no way for me to achieve that, not as a dead person. His kingdom in me has brought me to life - am no longer dead. His kingdom in me has given me strength - am no longer without strength. His kingdom in me has given me freedom and peace - am no longer condemned or imprisoned. His kingdom in me has given me light - am no longer lost and in the dark. His kingdom in me will be completed and perfected - and that with certainty!

I am not a good person trying to be better. I am alive and God is perfecting in me his righteousness so I will be more like his Son. This is true for all of his sons and daughters.