Free from Condemnation? My Loving Father?

Before I received eternal life I thought I had to earn my salvation, so I had no confidence that I would ever get to heaven.

I was raised in the Catholic church. I had always been "religious" and had always wanted to please God. I had always believed in the power of prayer. But I had no assurance of that I would ever get to heaven. It was too hard. I believed Jesus died on the cross to open the door so people could go to heaven, but then you also had to earn salvation by your good life. I knew I could never be good enough. I was taught if you went to confession your sins were all forgiven, but if you died before you got to confession again, you would go to hell, or at the very least, purgatory. There was no peace because no one could be that perfect. I felt sorry for Jesus because he went through all that suffering to die for our sins, but still no one would be able to go to heaven because no one was good enough.

In college someone shared with me what the Bible had to say about the real way to have eternal life. That I didn't have to earn it, that it was a free gift! All I had to to was trust in Jesus. We are saved by faith in Christ and what He has done, and not by the good things we do.

Now that I have received Christ into my life I have eternal life, and I am free from the constant fear that I am not good enough to go to heaven, that I will never measure up, no matter how hard I try. The Bible says you can know you have eternal life if you trust in Jesus. What joy to know that there is no condemnation for those who are children of God, that we are part of His family and will be with Him forever in Heaven. And not only that, he promises us abundant life throughout our life on earth.

Story?

No matter what's going on in my life, even in the most difficult times, I can have peace as I trust in Jesus and know that He is in control of everything that happens in my life. He is with with me and has never left me and never will. God is my Father who loves me and cares about every detail of my life. I can always go to him when I need comfort, wisdom and direction. He helps me deal with my fears. People may not always be there, but God always is. And I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that one day I will see Him face to face in heaven. The older I get the more the more real heaven becomes and the more exciting it is to think about what a joyful reunion it will be one day when I once again see family in friends who knew the Lord and who have gone there ahead of me.