"By Design"

"But do thou for me, O GOD the Lord, for thy name's sake: because thy mercy is good, deliver thou me." (Psalms 109:21)

 It is not all that perfect and free from injury, this new life we have been given; although one day it will be totally perfect and free from even pain, of any sort. Do you ever doubt that? Have you ever considered, What if this is all there is? I don't think you are alone, if you have. It is as easy to think of that as it is to think God is not watching you when you are doing those things you should not do. He is always watching! But, even then, there is nothing that we can do that He does not already know about, nothing! David did a pretty terrible thing when he tried to cover up his sin with Bathsheba; it was totally out of character for him to do what he did. But isn't that what sin can do? Sin can blind us of what is real and true, making only what is right in our own heart count, even if it is totally wrong. Think about this, if you doubt me. God knows all things and there is nothing hidden from His eyes; yet He calls David "A man after His own heart." He called David that before his sinful deed to cover up his crime, and He repeated it after. There has got to be something about God's mercy that makes the sin we commit vanish from His eyes; something that causes God to only see the good and the right things we do, but somehow overlooking all the rest. Or maybe, just maybe, He knows us so well and still sees beyond all of those things, looking at the finished product, what we will become. That is what tells me that there is a heaven and that this is not all that there is; because God still loves me, despite my sinful ways and the iniquity in my heart. We do not get to heaven based upon the things that we do and do not do; we get to heaven based upon what Jesus did for us...

"After saying all these things, Jesus looked up to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come, Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you. For you have given him authority over everyone. He gives eternal life to each one you have given him. And this is the way to have eternal life -to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. Now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began. "I have revealed you to the ones you gave me from this world. They were always yours. You gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything I have is a gift from you, for I have passed on to them the message you gave me. They accepted it and know that I came from you, and they believe you sent me."" (John 17:1-8) NLT