‘Somewhere in my youth or childhood, I must have done something good.’ So sang Maria in The Sound of Music on falling in love.
We have all done something good during our lifetime, as well as doing bad things. But God isn’t a god sitting up in heaven with a pair of scales. He isn’t balancing the good against the bad as a judge. We can never win His approval by our good deeds, they just wouldn’t be enough. Although good works, pilgrimages and penances have their place, they can never be enough to tip the balance in our favour. Our good will never be good enough.
We are inherently sinful and God hates sin. He can never look at it. It took the death of His Son to pay the debt but only because He was sinless. The other religions of the world depend on worshippers doing something to reach God. With Christianity, it is God who reaches towards His people. God has made the move towards us, we only have to listen, obey and follow with gratitude.
When we approach the gates of heaven we won’t be asked, ‘How many good works have you done?’ but ‘Have you accepted the sacrifice of Jesus for your sins?’