Our best isn't good enough

God wants us to live holy lives, but "trying our best for God" can simply be a way of denying the cross, as Bob reminds us at Gratitude and Hoopla:

Somehow, we're missing the Gospel badly. We hear it, I presume, each Sunday morning. We listen to preaching tapes, Christian radio, and watch our Christian TV. We've seen The Passion three or four times, and yet we continue to fail to comprehend the relevance of the cross of Christ to our lives.

People, the good news is NOT that God has lowered His standards. If your best effort was ever good enough, then Christ's heart-rending cry from the cross ("Father, why have you forsaken me?") hangs in the air unanswered.

We aren't saved by our best efforts or our best intentions, but by the grace of a loving God. Our best service, I believe, grows not from the desire for heavenly pats on the head, but from gratitude for God's gift on the cross.