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I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. -John 14:6 (NIV)

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 (NIV)

We all know them: unbelievers who model selfless, sacrificial behavior better than Christians do. They might follow other gods, or maybe don’t believe in any gods at all. And yet, they are genuinely kind,

They are good people.

Remember Uriah, the Hittite warrior husband to Bathsheba? King David, who strayed from following God when he slept with and impregnated Bathsheba, tried to manipulate Uriah so that the baby would appear to be Uriah’s. But, smelling something amiss, Uriah exercised restraint while honoring his king.

Uriah was not a follower of God, but as we have seen before in the bible, sometimes it’s the ones who aren’t believers who do a better job of showing love, kindness, and compassion that those who profess to love God. And yet, being a good person isn’t what will get you into heaven. You don’t earn a spot in heaven by just being a good person…through good works alone.

But what about Christ followers who don’t show His love to the world…who don’t show good works? Faith is key, with good works resulting from it. We show our faith in our fruits, which blossom forth from the Holy Spirit within us. We don’t do much in our calling–the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20), to make Him known to all the corners of the earth–if we don’t live and walk in His Word.

We all fall short of His glory, but true believers will be so heavily convicted in their hearts when they sin that they will confess and repent of their sins, have those burdens dashed as far as the east is from the west, and return to God’s path. And that path–the only path to Him–is through Jesus. And when we walk that path, our deeds will demonstrate our faith.

So, it’s through our faith in Jesus, the only Way, Truth, and Life…the only way to the Father…which saves us. And the good works that will naturally spring forth from our walk in faith, that will make for a fragrant offering to make Him known. Have faith. Jesus is the only way. And if you follow Him, you will surrender all to Him and live to make Him smile, and the world will know you are His…a true believer who will spend eternity with the Father.