God gives his grace to bad people. The deception that we are good people blocks our reception of His grace.

Some people are ignoring the Bible (“There is none righteous, no not one,”) and boldly proclaiming that humans are good instead of bad. If we were good people:

* We would act better than we do.

* We would always be kind to people.

* We wouldn’t ever be selfish or mean.

* We would always love our enemies.

* We would never think, say, and do wrong things.

* What a beautiful world it would be.

* We wouldn’t need Christ’s salvation.

When Jesus was asked why He eats with tax collectors and sinners, He answered: “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Believing that you are a good (righteous) person makes you believe that you deserve salvation when the truth is none of us do. It’s all God’s mercy!

Like the friend at midnight and the widow with the unjust judge (in the Gospel of Luke) we need to persistently pursue our relationship with God through prayer “without ceasing,” even when our feelings lie to us and tell us that we aren’t being (or haven’t been) heard. The One who cares enough to number the hairs on our head hasn’t forgotten us and will never ignore us. He lives within Christ-followers to lead us by His Spirit. He asks us to trust Him and live in the comfort and communications of His Spirit, even when we don’t get our way and don’t understand why. Communication with and connection with God don’t depend on our understanding Him but on our trusting Him.

Jesus made the way for close connection and clear communication with God. Open your heart to humbly receive.