God's Graceful Rules

 2 Timothy 2:5 "And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules."

In the 1980 Boston Marathon an unknown runner named Rosie Ruiz was the first female finisher.  Many were shocked that a runner no one ever heard of had won the race, plus her finishing time was the fastest ever run by a female competitor!  Race organizers became suspicious when spotters from the mile marks reported not ever seeing her run by.  When a reporter asked her how she trained to improve the finishing time from her last marathon by twenty-five minutes, Rosie simply said she woke up feeling stronger that morning.  It soon became apparent that Rosie had come up with her own rules and had not competed according to the rules set forth by the organizers of the Boston Marathon, and she was disqualified.

I was sharing the gospel with a woman, and when I shared that Jesus was the only way to salvation she stopped me.  She became very bold as she told me that her god was not so narrow as to only provide only one way to salvation, and that her god would never condemn anyone to hell.  This woman believed in sin and eternal life, but had placed all her hope for salvation in a god she had conjured and rules she made up.....pretty scary.

There is but one God and creator and He has set forth His plan for the salvation of man.  His plan is founded on His love for us, and His grace toward us in sending His Son Jesus to die in our place.  Our loving God has set forth a wonderful plan of salvation,and it's a free gift, but it's only one plan, through the one and only Savior Jesus Christ.  God as God, has set forth His rules, have you received His gift of salvation for you?