Pastor’s Corner: “Good Intention are not Enough”
John 14:6 (ESV) – 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
In the news I read of a woman who had moved to a military base in Washington State. One day, she intended to drive to Vancouver, Washington. Apparently, not realizing that there are two cities named Vancouver in the region – Vancouver, Washington (located in the southern part of the state) and Vancouver, British Columbia (located in Canada, north of Washington state,) she headed north on Interstate 5 until she arrived at the Canadian border. Canadian Customs agents at the border searched the woman’s car and a grenade belonging to her husband (who is in the Army) was found in the glove box. One of the busiest U.S. – Canadian border crossings was closed for an hour. The woman had gotten herself in trouble – the result of having good intentions but a wrong destination. Fortunately for the woman, after hours of interrogation and explanation, she was released the following day back into the United States.
This real-life story reminds me of another reality. Many people have good intentions in life but end up at the wrong destination. As the old saying goes, “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.” Perhaps with only a few exceptions, no one intends to live a life that leads to eternal separation from God. Most people simply ignore God, get on the highway of life and head off in a direction of their choosing. Unfortunately, the Scriptures demonstrate that the choice is a destructive one. Proverbs 14:12 (ESV) – 2 There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.
Jesus said that there are two roads: a broad road that many follow and a narrow road that few find. Matthew 7:13-14 (ESV) – 13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. There are many people in this world that will stand by their intentions and never abandon them, even when they are proven wrong and destructive. They will live and die by their intentions. This is a deception from the enemy!
The road to hell is paved with good intentions means that people want to do the right thing and obey all the rules. It suggests that people are not aware of their sin nature and believe if they are good, there is a reward waiting for them. They believe that whatever good work they perform will result in good things. Their good intentions don’t guarantee a signature in the Lamb’s book of life. We must remember the only way to heaven is by repenting of our sins and accepting the Lord Jesus in our hearts and lives. Our good intentions have no power in the realm of glory…the Kingdom of God. Only the grace of God through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross has the power to save us! Jesus is who we put our faith and trust in – definitely not our good intentions or man’s good intentions.
God’s Intention & Promise: 1 Timothy 2:4 – Who will have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth. Psalm 33:11-12 (NLT) But the Lord’s plans stand firm forever; his intentions can never be shaken. What joy for the nation whose God is the Lord, whose people he has chosen as his inheritance. God’s will isn’t really hard to understand if we seek it. It’s never manipulative or deceptive. He doesn’t hide it away in secret. He loves us more than we could ever imagine. 1 John 3:1 (NLT) – See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. Our issue – in fact, the single greatest issue facing humankind since the moment of creation – is answering a single question: “Is what I intend more important than what God intends?”
In His Grace,
Pastor Hamilton