The Kingdom Land by Bart Tuma Read Free Book Online Page B

simple? How can one night with God make Jesus want me? I’m
not really that much of a likable guy, and I haven’t done anything
for Jesus to want to accept me.” Erik wasn’t about to quit until he
had some grasp of the situation.
    The man to Erik’s left reached across him to the
creamer that sat directly in front of Erik. “Excuse me,” he said,
“but I can’t drink my coffee straight.”
    â€œ No problem.” Erik pushed the
creamer closer to the man and almost appreciated the
interruption.
    â€œ How’s your bacon and eggs?” John
briefly changed the subject.
    â€œ Fine, but I was so hungry,
cardboard would taste good right now.” The two concentrated on
their breakfast in silence for a time before John
continued.
    â€œ Erik, you said you weren’t that
much of a likable guy. No one, no matter how likable or unlikable
they are, is good enough to be on the same level as God. He didn’t
come to us because we had earned His presence, but because He loved
us. It’s His love that allows us to be with God, not what we’ve
done. That maze you talk about is something men create in their own
minds. It’s not God’s maze. It’s an important thing to know He paid
the price by His coming to this world and dying on the cross.
There’s no more maze. There’s only free access to God for those who
love Him. If anyone wants to try to find God in a maze, they won’t.
He’s here to be found if only you accept His lordship and His love.
You can’t earn Christ’s love…”
    â€œ Yeah, I know. I’ve never been good
at earning someone’s love.” Erik interrupted John in mid-sentence.
“My dad died when I was young. I always wanted to prove myself to
him, but it never happened and now it never can. I couldn’t do
anything right in his eyes, and I guess I thought God was the same
way. I wanted to prove to both of them I was good
enough.”
    â€œ Erik, you did what almost everyone
tries to do. They want to get by without God and do things
themselves.”
    â€œ But if God loves me that much,”
Erik said, “I’m afraid I will still disappoint Him, and it will be
worse now that I know Him. I also know now that he knows all about
me so He’ll know it when I fail. I mean, there seems to be so many
‘do’s and don’ts’ in Christianity. What happens if I blow it after
I know He’s real?”
    â€œ You’re right. He knows you and
everything about you. He knows you aren’t perfect. That is why the
price He paid on the cross allows grace to cover our mistakes.
You’re His kid; He looks at you with love and forgives your
mistakes if you ask Him. His love for you is constant.
    â€œ But let me talk about those ‘do’s
and don’ts’. Remember, they all come down to loving God with your
whole heart and soul and loving your neighbor as yourself. Now that
you know Christ, you’ll still make mistakes, but now you’ll have a
chance to walk away from those mistakes and not do them. These do’s
and don’ts you’re talking about weren’t written to take away all
your fun, nor were they made to continually show you how bad you
are when you fail.
    â€œ You live on a farm,” John
continued. “You work with machines. Each machine has an operating
manual. In that manual, it instructs you to change the oil every so
many miles, grease the parts after so many hours, etc., etc., etc.
Why does the manual say these things? It doesn’t give the
directions to waste the farmer’s time and burden him with
meaningless tasks. Simply, the machine works much better if you
follow the manual that shows how the machine should
operate.
    â€œ In a way, the Bible is God’s
operating manual for man. God states how man should live not to
cramp his style, but so that man might live to the fullest. Man has
free will and can do whatever