Salvation
I recently met a young woman, I’ll call her Beth, who struck me as being so pure and sweet, joyful and with a sense of peace about her. We were at a conference together, and many of the participants wore anxious expressions, and spoke of the fears and troubles they were dealing with.
Not my new friend; Beth’s words were filled with gratitude and thanksgiving for God’s blessings to her throughout her life.
Our conversation reminded me of a talk I heard years ago. The speaker was a young woman named Cary who was making a presentation to a group of other young people who were acquainted with her – the know her background story. A young man was the co-presenter, and he was the first to speak to the group. He shared how when he had been immersed in the darkness of addiction and poor choices, of sin, the Lord had come and rescued him. He had been pulled from the swamp and brought into the Kingdom of Light, and was now helping others to find their lifeline in Jesus.
Cary spoke next, and to the surprise of the audience, she began by speaking of how God had saved her from drinking, from promiscuity, from many sinful behaviors and activities. Her audience was taken aback, because this wasn’t the story they thought they knew of her life. The part that has touched my heart is what she said next; God had saved her from all these before she ever was involved in any of them. He had kept her from making the poor choices that would have led her down the path she described.
Being with Beth and listening to her innocence, I recognized that here was another child of God who had been shielded from the negative repercussions of bad choices – she had been saved from them without even realizing it.
A recent question in a devotional I’m reading asked the question, “Do I really believe that Jesus is my Savior?” As I prayed with this, it became apparent that yes, I can see in my own life all the negative things that the Lord saved me from experiencing. He is even now saving me from doubt, from loneliness, from feeling rejected or abandoned. Those things which I may identify as having been difficult, from which He didn’t “save” me, have been sources of growth in faith and love, for which I am now grateful!
We’ve been re-visiting St Therese’s STORY OF A SOUL, where the word “little” resounds thoughout her testimony, shedding light on her own purity of heart and innocence. All of this has come together in a beautiful way to fill my heart with gratitude once more, for God’s Goodness to me, and for how He has highlighted it with the stories of Beth, Cary, and St Therese. I thank God for the gift of Salvation, brought home to me on so many levels.
Lord God, thank You for the gift of Salvation! Poured out on me from the moment of my conception, and as the promise of life eternal with You. I was saved, I’m being saved, I will be saved, God willing, as I seek the grace of final perseverance to stay true to the One Who is Truth…
Spiritual Sun Pennies 