Have you heard the story of Honus? Honus was a wicked old renegade who lived in a small country town. When he died his body lay in the funeral parlor for three days without anyone even taking notice. Finally, on the day of the burial, a few of his old cronies did stop by to at least pay their respects.
As they gathered, the funeral director said: βNow fellows, we canβt bury Honus like a dog. Weβve got to have some kind of service for him. Wonβt somebody here take charge?β But the silence was profound, so finally the funeral director himself agreed to take charge.
He began by asking whether there wasnβt someone who had some good word to say for Honus before they buried him. Again there was a deep silence, until finally one old man stood up and said: βWell, I can say this much for Honus; he wasnβt always as bad as he sometimes was.β
To be honest, isnβt this true of all of us? Some people take offense at Rom.Β 3:22,23, which says: βFor there is no difference, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.β They think there is a difference, and that they have not been as sinful as others. Ah, but while there may be a difference in the nature or the degree of our sins, Romans 3 is right when it says that there is no difference in this: that βall have sinned and come short of the glory of God.β A person may put up a good front, feeling that he is not nearly so great a sinner as others, but whether a bridge is ten feet or a hundred feet short of spanning the chasm, it is still useless, so donβt try crossing it.
This is why we all need βthe forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of [Godβs] graceβ (Eph. 1:7). And we may have this by trusting in the Christ who died for our sins (1 Cor. 15:3). βFor by grace are ye saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of Godβ (Eph. 2:8). source
