Saved from and Saved for

We are saved by Jesus Christ.  This basic declaration of our faith takes on powerful significance this month as we remember how he won our salvation through his atoning death on the cross and his victorious resurrection from the grave.  Many minds much wiser than mine have pondered exactly how Christ saved us, and what this salvation means.  Although it ultimately is a glorious mystery that lies beyond full human comprehension, we celebrate this salvation, and we honor and worship the God who provides it.

As we prepare for the Easter season, I’d like to ponder three questions what arise as we consider our salvation in Jesus Christ.

1. AM I SAVED?  Unfortunately, many people worry about their salvation.  Have I done what it takes, or believed what I need to believe, in order to be saved?  This form of thinking probably arises from comparing the salvation that Christ provides with other desirable things: we have to earn them or deserve them.  The entire point of Christ’s self-giving love is that there is nothing we need to do receive, other than simply to open our lives to it.  If you want what Christ has to offer, it is already yours.

2. WHAT AM I SAVED FROM?  The simplest, most obvious answer is that we are saved from sin.  But that simply leads to another question: what is sin?  We commonly understand sin to be the acts of disobedience and destruction that we commit: those things that hurt God, others, creation, or ourselves, or which violate God’s will.  Christ has saved us from punishment for these actions, even if we still must face their consequences in our world.  But the Bible also portrays sin as the force that opposes the reign of God in our lives and in our world: it is the power of evil.  Christ’s death and resurrection has freed us from sin in this sense as well.  We are saved from broken relationships, from isolation from God, from fear and despair, and so much more.

3. WHAT AM I SAVED FOR?  We may not ask this question as often as we ask the others, but it may be the most important question of all.  Christ has saved us for a purpose, for a reason.  In salvation he equips each of us uniquely to serve him each in our own special way.  We Presbyterians in particular are aware that God has a plan for our lives: that our salvation is the beginning of a life lived for him.  God’s love for us extends beyond rescuing us from the terrible situations we find ourselves in, and which we often bring upon ourselves.  He loves us so much that he wants to include us in the great work he is doing to establish his kingdom and to bring all creation into the glory that he has prepared.  He loves us so much that he has chosen each of us, individually and as a community, to play our part in his great plan. 

As we travel together from Palm Sunday through Maundy Thursday and Good Friday to Easter, I invite you to contemplate not only what Christ has saved us from, but what he has saved you to do in his name and for his glory.