The popular NBC show The Good Place is in its third season and has treated its viewers to a fair share of twists and turns. The show has changed a lot since its first season, from changes in setting to changes in characters. One thing that has remained constant, however, is The Good Place's point system. It was introduced early on and continues to be in use.
Throughout people's lives, they gain and lose points based on their actions. If they have enough points when they die, they go to The Good Place. If they don't, they face eternal damnation in The Bad Place. During the mid-season finale, the people discover that-surprise!-no one has made it into The Good Place in over 500 years! Half a millennium!
That means that the people we have generally considered righteous in the past five centuries-all the U.S. presidents, Mother Teresa, Gandhi-didn't make the cut. That includes Doug Forcett, a character who is considered a legend in the afterlife for his good deeds. He tries harder than anyone else to be kind to others and always do the right thing. He's still alive, but apparently, he's far from making it into The Good Place. Why?
The obvious answer is that the system is flawed. Something must have happened over 500 years ago that changed the way points were counted so that no one ever qualifies for The Good Place. Perhaps the system has always been broken. There has to be a better way.
There is. God loved us so much that He sent His Son to die on the cross for our sins so that we may have eternal life. That's the Good News. It doesn't matter what we've done: good or bad. Because of Jesus, God sees anyone who accepts Him as righteous. Our sins are forgiven and forgotten. We don't have to be perfect. Isn't that amazing?
"God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it." -Ephesians 2:8-9
Your eternity is not determined by your ability to be good, but by your willingness to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. He's done all the work. You can rest in His promises. That doesn't mean you shouldn't still be good. It's not a condition of your salvation, but it's still important. God calls us to love one another, even our enemies, and pray for those who hurt us.
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Let me make this clear: the goal is not Heaven. You can't pretend to love and follow God just to avoid Hell. Your heart has to be in the right place. You have to truly understand and appreciate Jesus' sacrifice for you on the cross. He died to give you life. The goal is to love God and love others. We show our love for others by telling them about God's love.
Think of Heaven as your reward. You get to spend eternity with the God who loves you so much that He sent His Son to die so you could live. Now, that's a system I can get behind.
