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More and more, you see Christ followers slipping away from the Godly treasure. 

The Lord says in his word that in the last days, people will begin to lose faith.

I see a “counterfeit faith” so-to-speak cropping up as in the days of Noah.  They make excuses of why they cannot participate in the things of God.  “Well, Sunday is my only day off. I have this to do and that to do. It is my only day, blah, blah blah.”

And it is not just Sunday. It seems to be anything that requires commitment with God and his family.  Why is this? There are lots of great guesses, but I think it is because they have forgotten the good in the gospel. 

Some may say the reason is, “being forgiven is good news because I don’t want to go to hell,” “being forgiven is good news because a guilty conscious is a terrible thing. I get relief from that,” and a majority would say, “I want to go to heaven.”

These answers are true and understandable. However, the problem is they are incomplete.  Just to be forgiven is not the end in itself, neither is forgiveness of sins, assertion of righteousness, escape from hell, entrance to heaven, freedom from sickness and disease or bondage, eternal life, justice, mercy or the beauties of a pain-free world.  All of these answers, no matter how right and pure they are, miss the good in the gospel.  Did you notice God was never mentioned in any of these answers, only what he gives to us? Quite the one-sided relationship.

“And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. Little children guard yourselves …” (1 John 5:20-21). 

If God is not treasured as the ultimate gift of the gospel, none of his gifts will be good.  If God is treasured as supremely valuable in the gospel, then all the other lesser gifts will be enjoyed and we can all agree that is good.  There are eternal benefits to having a relationship with God, but present (in the now) benefits too. We must not wait to enjoy God himself until we get to heaven. 

As Christ followers this week, let us evaluate what is good in our lives.  Are we truly letting God know we love him, or do we want all the benefits without the commitment? God is the ultimate good. Let our focus be on him.

Yvette Perrin is a columnist for The Charlotte Gazette. She can be reached at theword2yvette@gmail.com.