If the good outweighs the bad...

I went to a memorial service today for a dear man who has a loving family and many friends. One of the speakers was sharing about the popular theory of life after death, and that set me to thinking.

Many people believe that there are scales for each of us. All of your good and bad deeds are put into the appropriate sides of the scales. At the end of life, if the good outweighs the bad, then you go to heaven. If the bad outweighs the good, then you go south...

I've heard that saying spoken by many people, and hadn't stopped to consider what the saying really meant.

The minister went on.

But in reality, that's not what happens at all when a person dies. After a person dies, and he is standing in front of God, God doesn't look for scales at all. The ONLY thing He looks at is the person's heart and whether or not that person has a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

That is the only decision that makes a difference about where a person spends eternity (and eternity is a very LONG, unending time).

Hadn't thought much about that 'scale theory' until today. From now on, I think I will listen more closely to the idioms, metaphors, and analogies I hear people say. Some may be accurate. Some slightly true. But many are way off the mark.

Toss out the scales. Get to the real issue.

You. Jesus.