Sunday, May 15, 2011

Salvation Belongs to our God

When people talk about being Saved (and you know there's a capital letter there), I always get a little itchy.  Not because I'm uncomfortable with talking about it, but because often it seems the people who talk about it that way insist that there be a life-changing, spirit-altering Moment of Being Saved.  That's not how it's been for me.  Here's my best answer to the when-were-you-saved question.  It is not meant to be inflammatory, or rude, or critical.  It's just my experience and my interpretation.

I was saved when Jesus died on the cross.  Salvation is something that God does; my actions can have no effect whatsoever on whether I am saved or not.  However, my understanding of this amazing act of grace has been growing since I was a child.  I hope it will continue to grow throughout my lifetime, by thought, prayer, and revelation.
The only thing I can really DO with salvation is accept it, and that is not something to be done once and then remembered forever.  Instead, it is a daily (sometimes an hourly) task of admitting my sinfulness, my inability to fix the situation, and putting my life in God's hands.  If that's what you mean by being Saved, then I try to do it every day.

If you have had a life-changing, spirit-altering Moment of Being Saved, that's awesome.  But please don't assume that it is or should be that way for everyone.

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