SALVATION
Those who seek salvation ask the question Where will I go after I die?
If you are not bothered about life after death, or you do not believe that there is a life after you die, then you are not concerned about the salvation issue. Before you skip the page, remember that IF YOU ARE WRONG (and it is highly possible) you have NO CHANCE WHATSOEVER to come back and change your belief. Wherever you may go, you stay there forever. There is this parable in the Gospel of Luke in chapter 16 verses 19 to 31 about a rich man who fail to heed the warnings when he was alive, but when he died and went down to Hell, he was unable to even help his brothers still alive to repent of their sins.
Remember that our sins separate us from God? How can we receive salvation and return to God? What can we do to earn this salvation?
The Gospel of John says it all. Chapter 3 verses 16 to 18 summarize God's salvation plan for mankind:
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish (die) but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. He who believes in him is not condemned, he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
Harsh words but ample warnings to everybody. Through Jesus Christ, the Son of God, you may be saved. Repent of your sins and turn to him as your Lord and Savior and believe in his salvation, then you will be assured of a life after death in Heaven. God ask for nothing more than obedience. He seeks no payment but devotion to him. And as you learn more of his wonderful love, his foregiveness, protection and blessings, you will begin to receive his gifts of peace, joy, love, deepening faith and a totally new outlook about life. You will not seek after worldly wealth, power and positions. Instead you will seek to love God more and serve him in ways you never anticipate.
Salvation transforms our spirit. Like a radio station out of tune, our lives suddenly discover new meaning and new purposes. We become tuned to God and learn more of his will. The ugliness of the world becomes very clear to us. We learn to hate the sins around us and with love and patience we also learn to deal with them so that the sinners who do not yet know of God's salvation through Jesus Christ may receive their second chance that the rich man in the parable story above did not receive.
Unlike a free gift offered when you make a purchase or subscribe to a magazine or credit card, this free gift is larger than life. It is life itself, not to be used now, but after you leave this world. There is no gimmick or trick. It is offered at a great sacrifice to every man and woman. Because the Son of God himself came to earth and was sacrificed on the cross that he may take away our sins and present us clean before God. Jesus cleans us before God the father that we may be acceptable. He paid the price with his own life. When you think deeper, how God's only son does this for you and I, it really show God's great love for us, that we are worthy enough to be plucked from this dispicable world, a world he nearly destroyed in the Great Flood (Genesis chapters 6 to 10) because of his great disappointment of man, a creature he made in his own image but strayed from his commandments.
Whether you are a christian or not, you need to make a decision, a decision to confess your sins and repent and accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, or re-dedicate your life to him and walk more obediently with him. The peace and joy you experience as a faithful christian is more refreshing than the cool mountain breeze. Take it and enjoy life more abundantly!
May you be blessed by the above readings.
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