LIFE ASSURANCE

1 John 5:12 “So whoever has God’s Son has life; whoever does not have his Son does not have life.”

I heard about a boy named Billy. Little Billy, caught in mischief, was asked by his mother, "How do you expect to get into heaven?" He thought for a moment and then said, "Well, I’ll just run in and out and keep slamming the door until they say, ’For heaven’s sake, either come in or stay out.’ Then I’ll go in."

We cannot do anything to earn our way to heaven. We cannot gain righteousness in and of ourselves. However, there is a way for us to know that we have the gift of God’s forgiveness and the promise of an abundant life. So the question for us today is…Do you have “assurance” or “insurance”? Both words sound very similar and have similar meanings. One of the definitions of both is a guarantee. Assurance is a guarantee of your word and insurance is a guarantee of payment. The same, yet different.

I have assurance that if certain people tell me that they will do something that I don’t have to worry about it. Their word is all I need. And I have insurance; lot’s of insurance. I have life insurance, car insurance, home insurance, and health insurance. They guarantee me compensation if anything were to happen to my possessions or my family or me. But the one huge difference is that assurance is not based on anything I do. Insurance has everything to do with what I do.

So back to the question. Do you have “assurance” or “insurance”? Do you have assurance of the blessings of God and a life filled with goodness? Do you know that God has given you life through his Son? Or do you have insurance, thinking that as long as you do the right things, as long as you work hard and make the correct choices that you can achieve the best things in life?

The answer to that question signifies a dramatically different choice of life styles. I have lived a great portion of my life trying to do well enough and be good enough. I have worked and worked and worked, all in hope of providing a sense of justification and meaning to my existence. All of that, I now know, is exhausting and utterly fruitless. The only way to really have life is to search for it on a path that leads to Christ. When you have Christ and subsequently he has you, life looks so much different. It is directed by joy and hope. The tasks of our daily lives will seem less burdensome with Christ than without him.

We must resist the urge to take over and try to accomplish things on our own. That choice will always lead to disappointment and isolation. But for those who have him, they are never alone. They have the key to fulfillment that so many are looking for and have failed to realize. David McCasland once said, “To know lasting happiness, we must get to know Jesus.” There has never been a statement that is truer.