The Goodness of Man

I remember what I was like before I was saved.  I was a good man.  I didn't drink.  I didn't smoke. I didn't swear.  I was a very good person.  I admit I was not perfect, but overall I was far from evil.  I thought of myself as a good Christian man.

Today I am a born again, Bible-believing, Jesus freak Christian.  I read my Bible and spend time with Jesus every day.  I teach in Bible studies. I have led in prayer.  I have helped others find Christ as their personal savior. I have protested abortion.  I speak in tongues, comfort the hurting, give to the needy and try to always give glory to God.

What is strange is that today I see myself not as a good man but as someone whose heart is evil and in need of God.

Before I knew Christ I compared myself to others.  I saw where they had fallen short, but I didn't.  I was a better man then they were because I didn't swear, but they did.  I didn't steal, but they did.  It was easy to be better than most of the people I knew.

When I became a Christian I started to compare myself to Jesus Christ. No man knows how bad he is till he has come face to face with God.  I came face to face with the perfection and purity of God and found that my life was so far short of where God stood that I was actually evil in my actions and thoughts.  Maybe my life was better than others, but God does not compare me to others.  I am to be like Christ.  I am to be perfect and only Christ can make me the man of God I am supposed to be.

"being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."  Philippians 1:6