7/23/17 Meghan and Chris early 20's
While reaching out with the Gospel, I met a young couple
with a simple faith that I found refreshing.
I had met Meghan and Chris on the sidewalk, asking about their views on
what happens after we die. Both said
they believe that some people go to heaven, while others go to hell, so I asked
what it is that determines who goes where.
Instead of the typical assumption that “good people” go to heaven, they
both simply said “The people who go to heaven are those who believe in
Jesus”. No doubts, no apologies for
being too exclusive, just a simple straightforward belief in Jesus as Savior.
But, like many, their simple faith lacked a few things. They had little to no biblical knowledge,
little understanding of the Gospel beyond “Jesus saves’, little to no church
involvement. And, judging from their demeanor,
their bodily adornments, and the circumstance of when and where I met them, they
were very much caught up in the ways of the world swirling around them.
The impression I got was that, although they related to
Jesus as Savior, they really didn’t know how to relate to Him as their
Lord. Yet He is both, and to relate to
one aspect of Jesus without the other is to relate to an imaginary Jesus.
So must Jesus be Lord of our lives as soon as He is
Savior? Didn’t He teach that we will be
able to identify who the true believers are by their fruits? Yes and no, I believe. If we take His analogy a little further, we
know that fruit doesn’t appear and mature overnight.
Near the end of his earthly ministry, Jesus made an
interesting statement to his disciples.
“If you love me, keep my commands”.
The disciples had the advantage of 3 years of training and close
fellowship with Jesus. They should know
this simple, logical truth, yet they needed to be taught and reminded that the
only appropriate response to Jesus as Savior is to obey Him as Lord.
Meghan and Chris were at a place I once was in my simple
faith. They understood Jesus as savior,
but were never really challenged to obey Him in response. They had grown up in a formal and very traditional
church that had not emphasized the benefits of Bible study, church fellowship,
and personally relating to Jesus and to God as our Heavenly Father.
There is so much more to Christianity than eternal
security. The Kingdom of Heaven happens
when we are in a right relationship with God our Father through Jesus our Savior. That right relationship with God can and
should begin here, now. It begins with
Jesus as our Savior, and grows as we relate to Him as our Lord.
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