My primary concern in this conversation has been to show how salvation and the gospel, as Jesus used those terms, relate much more to life before we die than many of us have considered. It would appear from various texts (John 1:4; 1 John 5:11-12; Romans 5:10; Ephesians 2:4-5) that we can almost use the word “salvation” synonymously with the word “life”. Salvation is life. Lack of salvation is death.

Dallas Willard concurs:

The issue, so far as the gospel in the Gospels is concerned, is whether we are alive to God or dead to him. Do we walk in an interactive relationship with him that constitutes a new kind of life, life “from above”? As the apostle John says in his first letter, “God has given undying love to us, and that life is in his Son. Those who have the Son have life” (1 John 5:11-12).

What must be emphasized in all of this is the difference between trusting Christ, the real person Jesus, with all that that naturally involves, versus trusting some arrangement for sin-remission set up through him — trusting only his role as guilt remover. To trust the real person Jesus is to have confidence in him in every dimension of our real life, to believe that he is right about and adequate to everything.

Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy, pp. 48-49

Jesus came to bring us life (John 10:10), and it’s not just a “barely-get-by-grin-and-bear-it” kind of life. He offers us life to the fullest extent — abundant life — life overflowing and running out your ears. It begins now and lasts for all of eternity — not even death can take it away from you. It makes life now better than we ever imagined it could be, and promises a life to come that is even better still.

The life Jesus offers us is better than our feeble imaginations can describe or even imagine.

And it is ours for the asking. All we have to do is respond to his simple invitation: “Follow Me.”

Tomorrow morning you’ll be given the choice to follow him or not. Right now — as you’re reading this — you’re given that same choice. Most of the people reading this blog were presented that choice some time ago, and you responded by saying, “Yes.” But each and every day you’re given the choice to make again.

When Jesus first encounters Peter in Mark’s Gospel, his first words to the fisherman were: “Come, follow me” (Mark 1:17). Jesus final encounter with Peter in John’s Gospel contain the very same words: “Follow me!” (John 21:19).

Some of the people reading this are more like Peter at the beginning of the story. You’re young and naive and idealistic. You don’t know much about Jesus or what he really means when he says some of the outlandish things he says. All you know is there’s something about this man, and your heart is telling you that it would be worth it to do whatever it takes to follow him wherever he goes. He’s offering you that chance right now.

Some of the people reading this are more like Peter at the end of the story. You’ve been around the block a few times. You know how dangerous this whole enterprise is. You’ve been disillusioned and disappointed. You’ve sinned in a deliberate and hurtful way, and you may not even be sure you can ever recover. He’s offering you the same chance now.

The issue comes down to trust. Will you follow him? Will you trust Jesus with not only your eternity and your sin problem? Will you trust him with every area of your life as well? That choice settles the issue of salvation — of life and death.

I don’t know what’s going on in your life as you read this. But I can answer for me — for tonight: I’m going to follow him. And I’m going to trust that that settles the issue.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 29th, 2006 at 9:38 pm and is filed under Jesus, Salvation, The Kingdom of God. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.