Greetings again,
I haven’t written in awhile. Seems life is alternately precious and cumbersome, and the details sometimes push their way into prominence, and the weight of critical thinking is put on simmer.
Recently I heard a Christian contemporary song that included the word “Savior.” It occurred to me, relating as I do to potential Muslim readers, that there is probably no equivalent concept in the Koran for this word “Savior,” because as far as I can tell, Allah isn’t in the “Savior” business. I guess if you’ve got his message (the Qu’ran) and the traditions (Hadiths), you’ve got enough knowledge to be dangerous; because the only guaranteed way to heaven is martyrdom.
My God (the God of the Bible) values life. That’s his FREE gift to us. Life is to be lived to His glory and our benefit if we choose His easy ways. No pressure. Just complete forgiveness for all time through the grace given by Jesus’ sacrifice. My salvation is secure; Jesus saves. (There’s that “savior” idea).
Do you have any clue how peaceful that is?
If I don’t pray 5 times a day, He doesn’t condemn me. Now he would LOVE to hear from me MORE than five times a day, but I’m not on his black list if I don’t. I will be blessed if I do.
I don’t have to make any pilgrimage at all, because as a believer in Jesus, His Holy Spirit resides in me, and guides me as often as I choose to yield my will and listen to Him.
Sure I give (alms, if you will), but I’m not under threat if I don’t. I LOVE to give out of gratitude for what He has done for me; He’s saved me completely! (There’s that “savior” concept again). Not only that, but I like to honor God by giving my time to others too. I share a part of my life’s energy benefiting them, because God smiles when I do.
The bible also talks about fasting, though most Christians don’t do it. Jesus doesn’t DEMAND it, though he recommends it as a way of getting closer to Him. Any sort of yielding is done to build a RELATIONSHIP with Him. He loves me and blesses me as I honor him. But I’m not going to hell if I don’t. He just wants me to keep my focus on Him, and not things.
As for who God is, and who his Messenger is, I would only ask this: Who has a history of bringing LIFE? Who really lived out “peace?”
It’s the one who took the “death penalty” FOR me, rose again, and offers LIFE to me (and you) freely if we say “yes.”
Can you possibly trust someone so generous? God doesn’t need us, so there’s no ulterior motive where He’s just waiting to stick it to us if we don’t jump through His hoops. He just loves us. There is genuinely no compulsion with God; He loves freely, and is waiting for you to say “yes” to new life in Jesus.
So what do YOU think of the idea of “Savior?”
