#ReadandReflect: The Faith That Will Never Be Broken
I will make a fearless forecast: When we die, we will face God and pepper Him with questions that had haunted us while we were back on earth.
“Why didn’t You stop the bullet?”
“Where were You when the accident happened?”
“Didn’t You care that my mother was in agony from COVID-19?”
However, I don’t think this will happen. God is so infinitely resplendent that when we take just one glance at Him, such questions would no longer matter. Really. I am not saying those questions aren’t important. It’s just that’s how wonderful our God is.
But as we face God, He has a question for each of us. “Why should I let you enter Heaven?”
The answer cannot be, “Well, I’m a good person,” or “I’ve done a lot of good stuff while on earth.”
You see, everyone has sinned. That includes you and me. It doesn’t matter whether it is a “small sin” like lying or a “big sin” like rape or murder. If we have just one sin, it doesn’t matter how much good we’ve done. It’s game over as far as God is concerned. God is so holy that He cannot allow sinful people to enter Heaven. We will march forth to an eternity of torment, not bliss.
That’s why Jesus came. He lived the life we should have lived: He committed no sin. He died the death we should have died: His death on the Cross paid the penalty of our sins. Eternal life is a gift to be received, not a reward to be earned. We don’t deserve this gift; such unmerited favor is what we call grace. But we also need to receive this gift; that takes faith. It is utterly putting our trust in Jesus—not in ourselves, not in anyone else, not in self-effort—for us to be saved.
Thus, the answer to the question “Why should God allow you to enter Heaven?” lies in passages like this:
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8–9).
God has never promised a problem-free life on earth, but He promised an eternity where there will be no more pain, no more death, no more crying (Revelation 21:4) . . . and indeed, no more doubt, disappointments, or despair.
Will you be part of this eternity? Turn to Jesus instead of stewing in your doubt. I invite you to pray to Him:
Lord Jesus, I admit I am a sinner and I cannot earn my way to heaven. Thank You for dying at the cross for me. I ask You to come to my life as my personal Savior and Lord. And I will follow You, not my doubts, for the rest of my life. In Your precious name I pray. Amen.
May you experience the love that will never end, the hope that will never disappoint, and the faith that will never be broken.
Shalom to you.
This is an excerpt from the book Broken Faith by Nelson T. Dy. This book is available at OMF Lit Bookshops, shop.omflit.com, Shopee, and Lazada for P250.
In Broken Faith, Nelson T. Dy confronts what many Christians struggle with but dare not admit: disappointment with God and disillusionment with the church.
In brutally honest reflections, Nelson shares how difficult it is to trust God when our circumstances only make us doubt Him more. What do we do when God isn’t the Healer, the Deliverer, the Provider, the Peacemaker, the Answer we thought He is? What do we do when our faith is broken?
“If your faith has been broken by misplaced expectations on how God should have answered your prayers, or worked in your life, this book is for you.”
REV. LITO VILLORIA, Senior Pastor, Greenhills Christian Fellowship South Metro
“Broken Faith challenges our spiritual clichés and inches us out of our comfort zones.”
MALOI MALIBIRAN-SALUMBIDES Broadcaster, Author, Motivational Speaker