Meet Emily Allen

For the majority of my life, I believed that, if I was "good enough," I would go to heaven when I died. I had peace thinking that if I was able to boast a long enough list of my own accomplishments and rules I had followed, I was going to be all right. My daily goal was to impress others by sharing how I had it all together. I was a self-proclaimed good girl. I kept people at an arm's distance and only let them know what I wanted them to know about me. My outward appearance did not match my inner loneliness and desire to be known.

When a friend shared Ephesians 2:8-9 with me, I began to understand that eternity in heaven was not a result of my accomplishments: "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."

God doesn't want you to boast about your own works because no amount of boasting will impact your salvation. Faith understands that nothing we do justifies us. As a gospel believer, you are free to understand and love the law more than someone who is seeking to be saved by following the law. When you put your faith in Christ, your sinfulness is given to Him because He died for it. In return, Christ gives you His perfect obedience to God's law, and you are able to live through it. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, "For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God."

It is not because of anything you have done or any rules you have followed. It is only by faith that depends totally on the merciful act of God in the death of Jesus. And the best part is, God loves this world, and He shares His gift of salvation with everyone!