I preached on grace one Sunday, later that week, the guys got together and discussed the idea of grace. The leader of the discussion said that he talked long, hard and earnestly about how we are imperfect and need so much grace, and how others are the same and need our grace.
So at the end of it all, once he figured he had gotten his point across, he decided to ask the following question:
“So, when you stand at the gates of heaven, what will you tell Jesus?”
The first guy, a man who has faced much criticism and hurt, people who don’t believe in him and people who call him down, he said, “I would say, Jesus, you are perfect, but I am almost perfect.”
Next was, a tough, muscular young man, a former drug dealer, “I would tell him, ‘Jesus, I don’t want to go into heaven, I want to stay on earth and fight evil!'”
When John told me this I couldn’t help but laugh. Here we are, banging our heads against the wall explaining grace…and…one thinks he doesn’t need grace…the other wants to punish sinners…WOW, we are good teachers!