STEPS TO NOWHERE

Most religions are about our effort to reach up to God and please Him or get His attention through our good works. In China, for example, some people climb a mountain called Taishan. They struggle up 7,000 steps, first passing through the “middle gate”, then through “heaven’s southern gate”.

Finally they reach the Temple of the Azure Cloud. Here they offer sacrifices, which they believe will earn them God’s love. But these efforts, as impressive as they are, don’t bring them any closer to God than when they took the first step.

Christianity, on the other hand, begins with the Creator reaching down to us. In His holiness He is so far out of reach of us that only He Himself could cross the gap and make the connection with us. And that’s exactly what He did. He became a Man and gave Himself as a once-and-for-all sacrifice for our sin (HEBREWS 7:27). Then, after rising from the dead, He went back to heaven. And He did it all for us. Our part is to admit that we are sinners, to give up all efforts to earn our salvation, and to trust Jesus as our only Saviour.

Those still climbing endless steps of self-effort to prove themselves may as well give up. They lead nowhere. Instead, take that all-important step of trusting Jesus. It’s the only step that leads to heaven.