The Return of the King
Good Morning Friends,
Oh my God what a mess! The catastrophe is beyond my worst imagining and I am baffled why I still see something beautiful. Maybe it is trust. This morning, I am, moment by moment working on the problem of salvation. I cannot sleep. I know it is the goal of the Christian religion to resolve it. I know it is the entire redeeming work of God in a human life, from the first hint of grace in the soul, until it is consummated in glory.
Ok I know there is love and I know there is evil and I know that the people who follow the way are nice, but I also know something is missing. And that this crossroads space is so painful. The problem is that this thing salvation is not about self-improvement. I know what I ought to believe; I know what I ought to desire; and I know what I ought to do and it just does not seem to be enough. I look to myself for salvation and I cannot find it. I really do not think I can figure out this salvation thing on my own. Only when I put Jesus on the throne and take myself off of it does anything make sense and as I look at its landscape I realize that it is not a place of comfort. It is not a playground but a battlefield. Only then do I experience courage. I feel terribly maladjusted even writing about this crazy space between justification and sanctification. It is a crisis in search of a friend. Then only having faced it do I experience God invading my humanity. Here we are in such peril that we need someone to save us. Then there is the last word on salvation. It belongs to Jesus. He says, “I am with you.” Then I realize that it is not about my own comfort but how comfortable Jesus is in me. J.R.R. Tolkien put it this way through the character Frodo:
“But I have been too deeply hurt, Sam. I tried to save the Shire, and it has been saved, but not for me. It must often be so, Sam, when things are in danger: someone has to give them up, lose them, so that others may keep them.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
Scripture: When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astounded and said, “Then who can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible.”
Matthew 19:25-26 (NIV)
because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.
Romans 10:9-10 (NIV)
Consequently he is able for all time to save those who approach God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
Hebrews 7:25 (NIV)
For even I, the Son of Man, came here not to be served but to serve others, and to give my life as a ransom for many.”
Mark 10:45 (NLT)
Message: Do you know what it means to be saved? Individually? Corporately? Really if we are honest there is a lot of possible misinterpretations in this. When I was “saved” I knew nothing about heaven and still do not aside from the eternity I experience in this very moment. It is as if I have had a burden lifted and another one put in its place. My salvation diploma is only an empty container, but still Jesus saves. Ok here is the challenge. I will show you the scripture and you tell me about what is meant by the word salvation. Here goes… in anticipation of the birth of Jesus a prophet said, “God has raised up a mighty salvation.” An old man called Simeon took the baby Jesus in his arms in the temple, and said to God, “My eyes have seen your salvation.” When a dishonest tax collector repented and believed, Jesus said, “Salvation has come to this house.” When the Apostle Peter began preaching on the Day of Pentecost he said, “Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under Heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.” When the Apostle Paul was on his first missionary journey he said, “To you this message of salvation is sent.” On his second missionary journey in Europe, a poor slave girl said, “These are the servants of the Most High God, who bring unto us the way of salvation.” When Paul was writing the letter to the Romans, he said, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, because it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes.” And in another letter he asserted that God’s whole purpose is that we may obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. We kind of avoid a conversation about this in any great detail. Part of the problem is that forgiveness is not natural. Forgiveness is not fair. We have a problem with salvation because we have a problem with forgiveness. We like it in the abstract but hate it in the concrete. Friends, the King has a sword and is not afraid to use it.
Pray we not look to ourselves for salvation. Pray we realize that doing good does not get us into heaven. Pray that salvation is more than an idea in my imagination. Pray for those who cling just outside the door of the ark to the nature of the world. Pray we always have work to do. Pray we realize that our struggle is not in vain. Pray we have confidence in the power of God. Pray we are enlightened enough to accept mercy and grace when it is offered. Pray God forgive us for thinking we are saved without a fight. Pray we too are willing to stand in this space of a broken link between Creator and creation.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 