A couple of weeks ago at work I was loading a truck with a coworker and we got onto the subject of salvation. He told me that he is an agnostic (believes that God/His will is unknowable, not that there is no God). As we talked he began to share a little of his story with me and ask questions allowing me to share some of what I believe and why.
The question that he asked that has stood out to me the most was, "Why is it so important that I ask Jesus to forgive me?" It's a very good question, and honestly I think it's the first time I've ever been asked that. He brought up the idea of simply living a good life, doing the right thing, and all of that, to which I talked about not being able to be good enough, but at the end he asked that question, and in that moment, with boxes pouring down on us, I didn't have a good answer.
I thought about it the rest of the day and that night, because it wouldn't leave my mind, and that night I came up with an answer. Here is what I thought of.
Imagine your child is outside playing and gets completely covered in mud. When it comes time for them to come inside you aren't going to let them until they are clean. You know that they can't clean up by on their own, and so you offer to hose them off, even offering to use warm water so that they can come inside.
It's like that. If we are going to enter God's house, we have to be clean, and the mud of sin has covered us from head to toe. There is nothing that we can do to clean ourselves off, but God sent Jesus so that we could be cleansed. He's offering to hose us off, and He's even warmed up the water for us. But until we allow Him to clean us up, we can never enter His house.
Forgiveness is so important, because without it we're still covered in mud, and we can never enjoy everything that God has for us inside His house if we're muddy. We must be cleansed by the forgiveness of Jesus if we want to be welcomed inside of God's house.
I shared that with him the next morning at work, and he told me that he understands. I'm praying for him and that God will continue to open doors for conversations and ultimately, whether through me or someone else, help him come to faith in Christ.
"I have been young and now I am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his descendants begging bread."
To God alone be the Glory!
Peace be with you
