why we should be good

Today in the One Year Bible, Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:1-22 that God shows everyone how gracious and forgiving He is by saving us when we least deserve it. And this is true. We also know about the story of the prodigal son, and how excited God and all of the angels are whenever a sinner comes home who has been off living in sin.

So why should we be good? If God delights in saving sinners, and wants to show off how full of grace he is, shouldn't we just live it up? Have a bunch of fun doing all the sinful stuff and then coming home at the end to be celebrated? Why not?

Well, there are many reasons. But one of them is found in that story of the prodigal son. When the older brother, who has been "doing good" all of his life while his little brother was "living it up" gets jealous of the celebration his father is throwing, the father goes to him and says, "Everything I have is yours." That's a huge clue as to why we should "do good" instead of "living it up."

God has great things in store for each of us. Things we can't even fathom. And when we follow Him and do His will, He rewards us with those things. All that He has is ours. But when we "live it up", we deprive ourselves of those rewards. Both in this life, and in the one to come.

So should we sin more so that grace will abound? Heaven forbid. Let's cooperate with Him in making us into the saints that He wants us to be. That will be far more rewarding.

God, thanks for teaching us why we should "be good."