So what I’m about to say isn’t at all lighthearted, but it’s important. Critical, even.
Salvation isn’t simply “asking Jesus into your heart” so that you avoid spending eternity in hell. Salvation isn’t the result of bowing your head or walking an aisle or praying a prayer. Salvation is embracing, by faith, two realities: (1) the hopelessly sinful state of your own heart, and (2) the hope of a Savior who paid the penalty for your sins on the cross, overcame death, and ascended to heaven, where He continually intercedes for you and where you will eventually enjoy eternity with Him.
There’s nothing anyone can do to earn salvation; it is a free gift of grace. Jesus came so that you “may have life and have it in abundance” (John 10:10). Life with Him really is abundant; salvation through Jesus Christ transforms you from the inside out, reorders your priorities, and changes how you live.
In the simplest terms, we could say that salvation makes you different.
But as you know, different isn’t always easy.
Different means that in situations where others might back away or compromise, you stand up for what’s right. You stand up for Truth. You stand up for people, the image-bearers of God. You stand up for the gospel.
Being different because you belong to Jesus changes how you respond to situations in your day-to-day life. How could it not? Sometimes that means you sacrifice your money; sometimes it means you sacrifice your time. It almost always means that you sacrifice your pride. And one approach to ministry that can be particularly impactful is when you don’t just look at the world around you . . . you take time to see.
And oh, y’all, there is so much to see.
- the person crying in the hall between classes
- the kid who’s disrespectful to authority but clearly hurting inside
- the elderly neighbor whose husband just passed away
- the drugstore checkout clerk who seems unusually stressed
- the sibling frustrated by struggles with schoolwork
- the outgoing classmate who feels like no one really knows her
- the teacher weary from family demands and late-night grading
- the family who has recently added two foster children to their household
- the visitor at church who looks like she doesn’t know a soul
And that’s just scratching the surface of the situations we can find in our own backyard, so to speak. We are surrounded on all sides by brokenness and heartache and the accompanying needs, so we have opportunity after opportunity to shine some light on dark or difficult places.
It’s good to remember that you don’t do these things because you’re trying to build a reputation for yourself, and you can’t save the world, of course. But because Jesus Christ has saved you—because He has called you by name and made you His—you are His ambassador on earth. You get to share His peace, His mercy, and His love with other people.
Salvation makes you different to make a difference.
What a calling, what a responsibility, and what a privilege. Praise the Lord.
1. Was there ever a time when you didn’t necessarily understand what it meant to be saved? Or when you thought it was something you had to earn?
2. How has salvation made you different?
3. Are there any situations or circumstances in your life that you used to look at but now you can really see? Here’s an example: maybe you thought a relative was aloof and standoffish, but now you can see and understand that he or she is disillusioned by disappointments?
4. Look up Romans 5:8. Write, illustrate, or doodle it here.
Today’s Prayer