That's what the little lady thought to herself on more than one occasion. "I am kind. I am honest. I try to do the right thing. I am tender-hearted and giving."
One day she was at someone else's house while the owners weren't home. She saw a big bag of her favorite peanut M&M's. She put them away so they'd be out of sight. (And planned to snatch a few when no one was looking.) She knew she shouldn't take them without asking first. It's true no one would miss them. And, of course... she wouldn't set a bad example for anyone else if she weren't caught. But stealing is wrong. Just a few? In the end she didn't take any. That's strictly because she never had the opportunity to do so unobserved.
The lady who wanted to take a few M&M's wondered about how this would play out in eternity. Given unceasing time, she'd surely find a way to steal the M&M's. And maybe over time she'd find a way to steal something a little bigger that she cared about more. (And which would hurt the owner more.) If she kept going down that track, she could probably grow into a monster in eternity.
That's why the little lady, it turns out, is so glad for the goodness of Jesus which she's put on as a garment. Jesus is safe. He'll never steal your M&M's, or anything else. And little by little as she asks him, he gives the little lady a new heart and a new mind. And his goodness has bought eternity in heaven for her, because it turns out her own goodness isn't so good.
It made me think of this stunning story about two farmer's sons that Jared shared with me from a sermon last week. I tried to find a link to the actual video, but that failed miserably. So you'll have to go to this website, scroll down to the bottom to the Relive Archive, look at the one labelled "4/30 - Randy Roberts", and start at 31:40. And also, it won't be on that page for more than a week or two, so if you want to hear it, you'll want to listen soon.
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