Here is a kind of interesting thought.  The Jews currently have between 6 and 8 people that they are watching closely to find out if they might be the messiah.  They are making sure that they never sin and have great hopes for a couple of them.  They still eagerly want their messiah to come but they rejected Jesus.

I often wondered what would happen if someone could live a perfect life (though the bible says, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.)  Could they get into heaven on their own account bypassing the need for Jesus altogether?  Then I read this in Romans 11 : 30-31

Even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy. For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all.

God committed everyone to disobedience which means he added the sin curse to everyone including the non-sinners (if there actually were any) so there would be only one way to the father, through Jesus Christ who adopts us as brothers and co-heirs.  Can you imagine how bad it would be if you did get into heaven without Jesus.

Hi Saint Peter.  Looks like I made it.  The place looks nice.  Hey, do you have any available rooms I could live in.

No sorry.  The city is for the bride of Christ and I can’t even give you a spot on the surrounding land to put up a tent because it belongs to Jesus.  Also, you can’t go into God’s temple to see Him because you need to be strengthened by Jesus to stand in His presence.  You can’t even eat from the tree of life so… well… this is awkward.  I guess you can go in, just don’t touch anything.

I guess the moral of the story is we all need Jesus which we already knew but I thought it was kind of interesting that God even solves the impossible problems that we can only speculate about.

Angels are wonderful creatures that God created.  I admit I am equal parts excited and terrified to actually see one.  When I look into a mirror and have that feeling I’ll see someone besides myself in the background I always imagine it will be an angel.  They have special attributes on earth. They are massive, winged creatures that wage war and yet some people have entertained them as people without knowing it.  They can pop in and out of the Spirit world and can do many impossible things like cause earthquakes and break metal bars and chains.  The interesting thing is that God says he made man a little lower than angels.  I think that means that they are better than us.  They are faster, stronger, smarter, more versatile.  They are what evolutionists hope we will become someday, but we won’t.  Even in heaven the angels will be better than humans.  But the verse in Psalm 8 actually says:

4  What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?

5  For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor.

Even though they are better, God crowned us with glory and honor.  God offered us a way out of our sins, and he made us co-heirs with Christ of heaven and all his creation.  Can you imagine how that made some of them feel?  You can kind of understand what made Satan rage and rebel against God.  He was possibly the most beautiful creature God ever created and he was told he would be subject to the humans.  In some ways we are like that little cart that drags gigantic airplanes around.  They can’t fly and they can’t go very fast, but the rules are that you must have one to move your jet around the airport.

God could have sent the Messiah as an angel to die for angels sins instead of us lesser creatures.  Perhaps God made us less then the angels and still honored us so that we will remember that all that we have is because of His grace and not because we are particularly impressive.  Praise God for our place in the Kingdom of Heaven as co-heirs with Christ, sons of God and the bride of Christ.  It is truly an undeserved and unimaginable honor.

If that is true, then fathers should give careful thought to this responsibility and seek to be what their daughters need of them. There are, I believe, at least seven components to that assignment.

1. A dad’s leadership at home should be a model of strength and authority, but always tempered by love and compassion. Harsh discipline tends to close down a sensitive feminine spirit, but permissiveness and capriciousness can create lifelong disdain for men.

2. A dad must remember that he is being watched closely by that little girl around his knees. The way he treats her mother will teach her volumes about how men and women should relate to one another. Blatant disrespect toward his wife will not be missed by the child.

3. I think it is good to begin “dating” a daughter when she is six years of age, or even earlier. Dad should let the child help plan their evenings and then see that they occur when and where promised. These times together are not intended simply for fun, although that is important. The father can also use them to show his daughter how a man treats a woman he respects. He can open doors for her, help her with her chair, and listen attentively when she speaks. Later, when she is a teenager, she will know what to expect—or insist on—from the boys she dates.

4. A dad should always look for ways to build the self-confidence of his little girl. If she believes he thinks she is pretty and “special,” she will be inclined to see herself that way. He holds the key to her self-acceptance.

5. A father should keep the lines of communication open throughout childhood, so that he is seen as someone to whom his daughter can turn when she needs advice. She will need that counsel before she is grown.

6. God designed men to be the “providers and protectors” of their families. Their daughters should perceive them that way. Dad is often his little girl’s “hero,” and it is wonderful when that kind of relationship develops.

7. A father must be the spiritual leader of his family, making clear his devotion to Jesus Christ and to the principles in Scripture. He should give the highest priority to bringing up his daughters, and his sons, in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

It’s not an easy responsibility raising girls, is it? But those who do the job properly can rest in the knowledge that they have given their daughters the best chance for a successful marriage, if they choose to wed.

From Dr. Dobson’s book Complete Marriage and Family Home Reference Guide.