I’m standing before the doors to a regal throne room. My clothes are torn and my face is dirty, but I have to go inside. I see two choices. I can try to clean up my mess and earn a right inside or I can bust open the doors and walk to see the king.

This is not any old throne room. There sits the Creator of everything we see and feel and know. He is reigning on a throne in the heavens, reigning over every spirit and being. He is surrounded by angels and heavenly beings who are worshiping and serving Him in perfect obedience.

With that in mind, you might think about that second choice and find it a little audacious. How could I walk in and think I’m “important enough” for God to hear? If I was simply an innocent child, it might be a different matter, but I know I’ve failed. I’ve tried my own ways. I’ve been distracted by things that don’t matter. I’ve listened to the lies. I’ve got the face and hands to prove it. There is dirt on my soul.

But, putting that aside for a moment, look at choice number one. Is there any possible hope of me earning my way into that throne room? Good works never impress God and there is no possible way for me to remove dirt from my soul. So really, what I see as a choice is actually an impossibility. There is no way into the throne room except through Christ.

Ephessians 1:4 is talking about those who have accepted Christ righteous sacrifice and been forgiven. It says, “…He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.” There is no arguing that our own “clothes” are stained. We have the guilt and shame to prove it. But what Christ did was take those dirty clothes on himself and he gave us his.

So, I’m here before the doors of my Heavenly Father’s throne room. I see the stains of sin on my life and my heart tells me I must change. But instead of working harder, I open the door and I run to the One who can change me. God looks and sees His own child, running through the great hall, and He opens His arms.

Anna 🙂