A Light for My Path

I have been a member of two online bereaved parents’ groups now for more than seven years. A question and concern many parents express is whether or not their child is in Heaven. Young people often make poor choices. (I certainly did.) Some children have died as a result of illicit drug use or were involved in illegal activities when they passed away. Their parents are not only struggling with grief, but worried that their children’s sinful actions prevented them from spending eternity with God.

Paul addresses this concern in his letter to the church in Rome. I don’t know if it was in response to questions from the congregation there or if he just knew that this was a burdensome thought a lot of people have. Remember, Paul himself had done some pretty bad things. He approved of the killing of Christ followers. He confessed he was a spectator at the stoning of the apostle Stephen (Acts 22:20).

In Romans 3:23-24 Paul says:

²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

There’s a country song I love by Larry Fleet called “Where I Find God.” The first verse goes:

The night I hit rock bottom, sittin’ on an old bar stool

He paid my tab and put me in a cab; he didn’t have to

But he could see I was hurtin’; oh, I wish I’d got his name

‘Cause I didn’t feel worth savin’, but he saved me just the same

We will always fall short. We are human, sinful by our very nature. But, if we confess our sins to God and profess our belief in His son, God forgives us. And, if we sin again, He forgives us again. Over and over and over again. His grace is that amazing.

It’s not because we are worthy. It’s not because we are saints. We don’t have to be worth savin’. God’s mercy and grace are such that He saves us just the same.

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Laura