Romans 10:8-10
It’s the word of faith that welcomes God to go to work and set things right for us. This is the core of our preaching. Say the welcoming word to God—“Jesus is my Master”—embracing, body and soul, God’s work of doing in us what he did in raising Jesus from the dead. That’s it. You’re not “doing” anything; you’re simply calling out to God, trusting him to do it for you. That’s salvation. With your whole being you embrace God setting things right, and then you say it, right out loud: “God has set everything right between him and me!”
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
In her book, Just Give Me Jesus, Anne Graham Lotz tells the story of a mother and son who enjoy a glorious day together at the beach. They soak up the son, revel in each other’s company, and relax in the quietness of the ocean waves. As the sun begins to set, they hear screaming in the distance, and they realize that a woman is drowning down the beach a ways… pulled under by the current of a rip tide. The son swims out to rescue the woman and pulls her to safety, but when she emerges from the water, he is nowhere to be found. The mother is understandably distraught. The rescued woman walks over and tells the mother that her son didn’t have to do anything – and he certainly did not have to die… that she would have somehow managed on her own.
Lotz makes the suggestion that this is how many of us are with Jesus. He quietly and bravely suffered and died on our behalf, and all we offer in return is indignation. We were doing just fine… we didn’t need “saving”. We seem to somehow manage pretty well on our own… who says we need a redeemer? Besides, we’ve really not done anything to earn God’s favor. In fact, we’ve been pretty rotten at times. Why would Jesus want to risk His own life for ours? What’s in it for Him?
The answer to these questions encompasses the beauty of our relationship with Jesus. We are not expected to “do” anything… Jesus didn’t die for us out of anything but a deep sense of love and concern. Just as the young son who rushed into the water to rescue a woman he did not know in the least, Jesus comes after us. The young son didn’t have a clue about this woman. She might have been a horrible person… a hardened criminal… an abusive parent…a truly hateful individual. The young man didn’t consider any of this… he just saw a woman in peril, and he rushed to save her. Jesus knows each of us… our past, present and future… and still, He gave His life for ours. All we have to do is accept His hand… His offer of salvation… His “rescue plan”.
Here’s where our story differs from the woman’s. Once we have been saved by faith… rescued by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ… we are called to “name it and claim it.” Unlike the woman who disavowed her deliverance from the treacherous ocean waters, we are called to embrace our new life in Christ… to declare Him as our LORD and Savior… and to live in such a way that all can see that we belong to Him… and to be grateful.
As Lotz noted, many have accepted Jesus’ gift of salvation… but with something of a dismissive attitude. We’ve either failed to share Jesus with others through our words and actions… or we have essentially scorned Him by acting as if we were managing perfectly well on our own. And we are all guilty of this in one form or another at times. We should all take a long, hard look at our Christian faith… and how we are treating Jesus. Have we truly chosen to follow Him? If so, have we fully committed to acknowledging Him in every aspect of our lives… and are we grateful for His amazing sacrifice?
Are you in need of a Christian “attitude adjustment” these days? God has done His part to set things right … have YOU?
©2013 Debbie Robus
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