Fully Saved
Imagine for a minute that there was a plan to save you before you needed to be saved.
He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. - Ephesians 1:5-10
In his letter to the Church in Ephesus, Paul describes such a plan of salvation.
From the moment of our creation, God knows of our failings, and He has a plan to catch us when we fall.
As Christians, we believe we are saved through Christ, and while that is good news, it can be troubling to think that others may not be saved.
But if everyone is saved, why did Christ come?
I think he came to give us an example of how we can live in the knowledge of God's grace. His Kingdom has Come, and we are all invited to be a part of it, just as Jesus says in his parable of the banquet.
But if we choose not to participate, if we stay focused on ourselves and fail to love one another, we fail to accept the free gift of God's grace, and we choose to live a life that outside the Kingdom walls.
If we think of salvation as a gift received in the afterlife, we may be missing the point and the power of Christ's message. Salvation can also be a state of existence in the world today.
Are we living our lives as though we have been saved from the powers of evil and the temptations that distract us from God's love?
Do we truly love one another?
If we don't feel saved, we probably are not on the right path, and that is what following Jesus means for me.
Set me right, Jesus, and show me how to live a grace-filled life, fully saved.
More to come...