My husband and I applied for our RealID cards to replace our drivers licenses on the same day. Neither of us will ever forget the experience. We tell the story around the dinner table and still get a good belly laugh. The camera operator insisted on taking several shots until my husband smiled to her satisfaction. Everyone in the waiting area was chuckling by the end and I can only imagine the private conversations being whispered after we exited.
The RealID will suffice for traveling inside the continental United States but if we choose to travel to another country, we would need to secure passports. We may curse the inconvenience of the process but we wade through the proper channels all the same. We rarely question the rules and regulations placed on travel, even during the Covid era with masks, social distancing, cancellations and delays. When we know where we want to go, we do whatever it takes to get there.
Each of us, every living, breathing human being, is on a one way journey through life. We came into this world through no effort of our own and without choice as to where and when, but each of us gets to choose our final destination. If I am traveling in an unfamiliar place and I break the rule of law, I will not be excused from punishment because I did not know the law, so I make it my business to educate and prepare myself ahead of time. Does it not make sense to do the same when the destination is an eternal one?
“But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago.
We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ.
And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.
For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.
For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin.
People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood.
This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time.
God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.
Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God?
No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law.
It is based on faith.
Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law?
Of course not!
In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law.”
Romans 3:21-27, 31 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/rom.3.21-31.NLT
“Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.
Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.”
Romans 5:1-2 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/rom.5.1-2.NLT
“Whether you believe in God or not, you are living, walking, and wearing His stuff. He gives gifts to all: food, drink, work, friends, family. He gives gifts to all, but only the children of God, only those who believe in Jesus, receive the gift of lasting enjoyment. Why? Because if we’re oriented around Jesus, our satisfaction is not tied to anything but Him. We can actually enjoy God’s good gifts the way they’re designed to be enjoyed, because they are in orbit around the right sun- not our self, but our Savior.” (The Explicit Gospel -Matt Chandler with Jared Wilson, p.133)
“The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.”
Ecclesiastes 12:13 NASB1995
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