"Acceptable Deposit"

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."  John 14:6

When it comes to salvation, Jesus said that He was the way that leads to eternal life.  That means there is only one way we can come to the Father that He accepts.  So, why is it we think we can come to Him through "many ways"?  Why do we think that whatever way we choose is acceptable to Him?

Let me ask you a question.  If you go to the bank to make a deposit, what will the bank accept as a deposit?  It will accept money.  You will have to deposit money into your account-- that is what they accept.  If you walk up to the bank teller and hand her a chicken and tell her that you want to deposit this chicken into your account, will she accept it and deposit it or not?  Of course not.  She will probably think you have lost your mind.  Let's say you went to the teller and wanted to deposit a magazine-- after all, it is paper and money is paper.  Will she make out a deposit slip or send you away?  What if you then tried to make a deposit with Monopoly money.  Will she accept it?  Why not?  After all it is "money".  The Monopoly banker takes it.  Why won't they?  Let's try to make a deposit one more time.  This time we will take counterfeit money to the teller.  Surely she will let you make a deposit.  It is "money".  It looks like money.  It feels like money.  It is printed with the same markings as genuine money.  It is the same color.  She won't let you deposit it either because it isn't real money even though it looks like it.  The problem is-- you are trying to deposit something that is unacceptable by the bank.  You are trying to deposit something that doesn't meet the criteria for a deposit.

You probably laughed at the analogy.  You probably thought it was ridiculous.  You are probably thinking that it is absurd to think that any one would try to deposit anything other than money.  After all, everyone knows that money is the only thing the bank will accept as a deposit.  I used this analogy because the reality is so many people are trying to gain eternal life by bringing the Lord something that is unacceptable.  They are trying to gain it through good works, right living, religious duties, being moral, and so on.  Some have even tried to be accepted based on the fact that they didn't cheat on their taxes, don't beat their wives, were born in America, don't spend their money gambling-- talk about absurd.  That is as absurd as trying to deposit a chicken.  It won't work.  It is not acceptable.  Money is the only thing the bank will accept.  Faith in Jesus Christ to forgive your sins and give you eternal life is the only thing the Heavenly Father will accept.  If the bank won't accept just anything, what makes you think the Lord will?

Have a great day.  When you go to the bank to make a deposit, money is the only thing they will accept.  When you go to the Lord for salvation, faith in Jesus Christ is the only thing He will accept.