After every English class, a member of the church leads a Bible time. Today, during the adults' English class, the leader, Itsuko, read a story from a Japanese Christian devotional book called "Clay." I think it's based on Ephesians 2:8-9 which says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not by works, so that no one can boast." From what I understand, here's how the story went:
A man dies. And as he's walking on the road to heaven, he sees an angel. The angel comes up to him and says, "Before you can enter heaven, you have to tell me all the good things you did while you were on Earth. Based on how great those achievements were, I'll give you a certain number of points. If you can get a total of 100 points you can get into heaven."
The man agrees, and begins to tell the angel of his past achievements. "Well, I stayed completely faithful to my wife throughout my life."
The angel answers, "That's great! That'll get 3 points."
The man is a bit surprised because he expected to get more points, but he shrugs it off and continues. "Hmm, I went to church every week. And frequently put quite a bit of money into the offering bin."
The angel answers, "Great! 1 point."
The goal of 100 points suddenly feels incredibly far, but the man presses on. "Ok, how's this? In my free time, I often volunteered at the local community center. And every year during Christmas I helped feed the poor and the homeless in the area. And one Christmas, I helped more than 100 people."
The angel answers, "That's great. 2 points."
The man is stunned. That was the best thing he could think of. He counts the points he has so far. He compares it to the goal of 100 points. Realizing that he has absolutely no chance of reaching the goal, he pleads with the angel, "Have mercy on me!"
The angel answers, "Ok, you can go in now."