Wear Your Life Saver (Christ is Our Salvation)

I hear from different denominations in Christianity about what being saved means, whether it expires, and how to maintain it. Salvation to me is an initial acceptance and faith in Jesus Christ, verbal confirmation in your choice, and an ongoing relationship to keep the wheels spinning smoothly.

For example, a couple weekends ago, I got some bad news in the mail and immediately went into panic mode. I started crying, freaking out and going into these impossible scenarios in my head about how our world was going to end (drama queen, I know). Deep in my heart I knew that God is bigger than any of my problems and that everything would work out fine because it ALWAYS DOES. (What's that saying? 90% of the things we worry about end up never happening.) Despite my devout belief that God is bigger than my problems, I had this sudden attack of voices in my head about how stupid I was, how this was my fault, how we were never going to get it fixed, that we would go into debt and lose everything, that if I'd done my research better we wouldn't be in this situation, how I'd single handedly put my family (furfamily) in a bad situation. (It really wasn't that bad, but it was the weekend and I wasn't able to call and ask questions until Monday so my mind went off the deep end.) I kept announcing God's truths over and over to silence the worry but it wasn't working. I asked my husband to pray that night after I silently cried in bed and of course he was more than willing to. I felt better, slept soundly and woke up joyful. It wasn't long after that the worry crept back in. I received a precious hug and prayer from my mom, felt much better, and continued to receive prayer and shoot up prayers of my own all weekend. Monday, my husband called to ask about this letter. It was just an accident, the nice lady cleared it up right away and we owe nothing. It was wiped clean like it never even happened.

I'm telling you this story to prove my point - that while I still firmly believe in the power of Jesus in my life, I needed salvation in my time of worry. I needed the Savior to pick me up and remind me of his love. My wheels started creaking and turning slowly and I needed a tune up to get them running correctly. That tune up is God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.

Here are three aspects of salvation to keep in mind:

Salvation is not just going to Heaven when you die, but a life of inheritance with Christ. An inheritance of a life with love, joy, purpose, victory, light and family.

Salvation is a gift. It is not something that is achieved, but rather something that is received upon faith in Jesus Christ as your savior. All you have to do is say you want it and it's yours.

Salvation is a relationship. It is a relationship with God through Jesus and the Holy Spirit and also a relationship with a body of believers. A relationship is not something that gets dusty under your bed; a relationship is something you have to actively work on to make better. It is a living, changing thing that has to be maintained and loved in order to thrive. Come into a relationship with God and watch all your other relationships bloom into a whole new flower.