Life Spark: Jesus wants to save us from something. (John 3:16)
Life in Christ is not a matter of ‘turning over a new leaf,’ it is a matter of ‘receiving a new life.’ On the cross, Jesus refused to save Himself, so He could open the way of salvation to us.
I grew up in an evangelical Christian family. I heard the word “saved” a lot. “Jesus saves.” What does that mean? “Jesus saves us from hell and gives us a ticket to heaven. Jesus repairs and restores us. Jesus helps us. Jesus forgives us. Jesus redeems us. Jesus frees us to live the life we were created to live.” That is what ‘Jesus saves’ means.
A few years after I became a Christ-follower, I joined with some other young adults and offered a free car wash in our city on a Saturday. People would drive in and ask “What’s the catch?” And we would say, “No catch. We just want to demonstrate God’s love.” People seemed to appreciate the free wash.
I remember opening the car door for a guy whose car had just been washed, and hearing one of the zealous young people washing cars call out to him, “Jesus saves!” The guy turned to me and whispered “Jesus saves from what?” The normal Christian answer would be “Jesus saves from sin,” or “Jesus saves us from hell.” Without even thinking, I said to the guy, “He saves me from myself, from the old selfish me.” He acted surprised at my answer. He stood there silent for several moments, smiled, and then said, “I’ll have to think about that.”
‘To save’ is to deliver from a bad state to a better state. The old me, the BC me is physically alive but spiritually dead. Biological aliveness is very nice, but it’s terminal. The old me is self-centered, selfish and terminal. The new me, the AD me, is Christ-centered, loving and non-perishable. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish …” (John 3:16a, NIV)
To perish is to die, but the word used here in John 3:16 also means to be rendered useless. God doesn’t want you to die, but He also doesn’t want you to be destroyed, or rendered useless in spite of being physically alive
Life-action: Jesus came to save you from useless, purposeless, terminal living. Are you thankful? Tell Him right now and at least one more time today!