Salvation

*Salvation's Spirit*

`

Salvation is about God at work,

and is not about human effort.

`

No

flood of tears, 

no

exercise of brain or brawn,

no

amount of

compassion or forgiveness . . .

no

thing a human may

do,

believe,

feel,

think, or

perceive

`

-- nothing in humans --

`

has the power to save

a man or a woman

from certain death.

`

Nor pleading,

nor bargaining,

nor love,

nor money can

bring salvation.

`

Neither a man's

strongest

will,

nor a woman's

deepest

desire

can bring one more

year away from sin's wage.

`

Salvation is about God,

and is not about humans.

`

No Tao to be walked,

no ancestors to be honored,

no Loki to be appeased,

no Athena to pray to,

the doing of which things

can bring salvation.

No Mars to fly to,

no moonwalks to walk,

no movement

beyond solar systems

distances humans enough from

sin's sure effect.

`

Salvation is about

God's work, about

God's power, about

God's mercy, about

God's grace , about the

Blood of Jesus’s atonement.

`

Humans' repentance does not

require

God to redeem.

Humans' faith does not

force 

God to forgive.

Humans' confession does not

compel 

God to concede.

Humans' baptism does not

bully

God to bless.

Humans' obedience does not

oblige 

God to overlook sin.

`

Salvation is about God,

and is not about what humans do.

Salvation's author is

God,

`

and none else.

`

Salvation is about the

One in Whom

alone

dwells immortality;

about the

One Who loves,

and therefore, and therefore alone,

we live.

`

He is our Salvation,

He is our Redemption,

He is our Atonement,

He is our Beginning and our End!

`

No man will ever buy

salvation with his

effort,

mind,

blood, nor even

effortlessness.

No woman will ever earn

salvation with her

kindness,

motherliness,

subjection, nor even

brazenness.

`

Salvation is about

God.

Not about

the meagerness

nor about

the nobility of

our efforts.

`

And yet.

`

And yet.

`

Because He loves us,

because He redeems us,

because He forgives us,

because He justifies us,

because He sanctifies us,

because He saves us . . .

`

Therefore:

`

He calls us to repent, therefore.

He calls us to believe, therefore.

He calls us to confess, therefore.

He calls us to be baptized, therefore.

He calls us to obey, therefore.

He calls us to holiness, therefore.

`

He calls us to Jesus, in faith.

He calls us to Jesus, in repentance.

He calls us to Jesus, in confession.

He calls us to Jesus, in baptism.

He calls us to Jesus, in obedience.

He calls us to Jesus, in holiness.

`

He, who makes us worthy of his calling,

calls us to become worthy.

He, who saves us from death,

calls us to save ourselves from this

crooked generation.

He, who redeems us completely,

calls us to live lives that say so.

He, who casts our sins as far as

the east is from the west,

calls us to live holy lives.

He, who forgives us profoundly,

calls us to forgive one another.

He, who needs nothing from us,

calls us to love him with

all

our hearts,

all

our souls,

all

our strengths,

all

our minds.

`

He, who may from rocks raise children to Abraham,

calls us to be His children,

into relationship, to be like Him.

`

And Jesus, His son, says:

`

If

you

don't forgive men their

trespasses,

neither

will your

Father forgive

your

trespasses.

`

And when we have done all,

we pray:

`

In Jesus' name, Father,

May our lives

be acceptable to you.

We are unworthy servants,

by your Holy Spirit

we have but done our duty.