Only one thing matters.

I have struggled with the notion that if you don't know Jesus you cant get to heaven. The idea that people that we really love wont be going there. But heaven is the presence of Jesus. So its sort of like being offended when you're not invited to a wedding of someone you never met. In fact, its more like being offended that you are not asked to be the bride of someone you never met. That doesn't make any sense at all. No one would consider God good if he forced people to marry him who don't like him.
I cant even explain how often I get caught up on things other than knowing Christ. There is this interaction that really hit me this morning where this crowd says to Jesus, What must we being doing to do the works of God? He said, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent." As in, there are no works. It is not plural. The only thing is believing in the one God sent. Which is why the thief-and lets not romanticize the thief. Crucifixion was not casual. What if the thief had done something really twisted and terrible? What if he killed someones daughter? What if he had killed my daughter? What if he was a rapist? The ambiguity of the thief's crimes remind us that we cannot say, Christ is in love with you and invites you to paradise as his pride except...There is no except. Perhaps even scarier is that along with no "except" is that there is no "unless." You must believe in the one he sent unless you saved a lot of peoples lives. Or pastored a big church. Or raised your kids well. Or tried to be nice to be everyone. Or brought clean water to villages. The work (not works. There is only one work) of God is believing Christ. So it doesn't matter if I drink or not? Nope. It doesn't matter if I am homeless or not? No. It doesn't matter if I go to Haiti? Not a bit. If I lead young life? If I give my heart to middle school girls? No. The only thing that matters is believing me and the one who sent me. Then you will be with me in paradise. Just like the thief who wasted his life. He's already there. He's been there since the day he died. next to our lord. Im basically positive he never converted anyone. Maybe he brought misery to everyone he knew. Maybe if he hadn't been in the scripture, none would have remembered him for anything. He is in the same place that Peter and Paul are. Because none of us do anything. God just uses us. Just like God is using that anonymous thief right now to teach me that his love is like nothing I have ever known.

So, so often, I think, if you would just make my calling clear I would do it. Just tell me how much to give. Tell me who to marry. Give me the formula. Please, God. And he says, Krystal, I already did. You're just rejecting it because you don't like it. But I didn't ask you your opinion. There is only one thing. Believe in the one I sent. His name is Jesus. He was crucified and he conquered death. Because of him you get to be with me forever. Thats it. There is nothing else.