We hear it all of the time. Saved! He was saved by the bell. His tackle saved a touchdown. I saved enough to buy that car. She saved herself for marriage. He saved them from embarrassment. They saved money for a rainy day. She saved her child from the rolling car. This list goes on. In fact, when I get to the end of this article, it is the command that I must click if I want to preserve this work. It was just as common in religion speak one day. Has he been saved? I remember the day I was saved. I am grateful that my brother is being saved. The list goes on. But, in many church circles, the list is getting shorter these days. I’ll explain in a moment.
I pause now to think more deeply about it. My life changed in a moment several decades ago. There was immediate relief from mental, emotional torment; from purposelessness that turned around to purposefulness in a matter of moments. My orientation changed- outward and upward rather than inward and backward. Things were radically different in a day. People sometimes say, “What a difference one day can make.” Well, if that one day is a move from death to life, I would answer, “You have no idea.”
But, the word has fallen on some disfavor in some circles in these days. Some people prefer other terms that seem a little less stark. This word seems to promise a lot. We don’t want to under-deliver. There is hesitation because addictions are hard to break and bad life choices cannot be undone in a day. The terrible relationships will remain the day after my commitment. The financial hardship will likely be here tomorrow unless a windfall literally falls in the wind. There is reluctance to talk about radical change rather than incremental change.
Trust me! I know the feeling. There was a time when I was an apologetic apologist. I was trying to describe how, regardless if noticeable change occurs or not, God is worthy of our life commitment, surrender and worship. I would also say that our life decision is one of faith. And faith, if it is dependent upon feeling or specific expectation, is most likely not very deep faith. That is, by the way, all very true. But, the intent was to set the spiritual bar at a low height so as to be easily cleared. I didn’t want people to be too disappointed if they were treating God as a cosmic Santa to deliver a bag of goodies for their personal enjoyment. I didn’t want people to be too disappointed if their salvation meant an internal ability to handle tough circumstances without being delivered from any of them.
Now, I am not saying that the abusive relationship goes away or the addiction is no longer addictive or the financial portfolio will instantly change the moment a commitment is made. Life situations often stay the same. But, life itself never does. In fact, death gives way to life. I want to set the bar high when we talk about salvation. Because life changes. Actually, EVERYTHING CHANGES! When we take God seriously and ask him, through Jesus Christ, to deliver us; he does. Attitudes change. Circumstances change. Relationships change. Our orientation to difficulties change. Our decisions change. Our view of past events change. Our ability to love changes. Hope changes. Our eternal destiny changes. Unapologetically, we are saved and because we are saved, everything changes. These are all expectations that come with being saved. That is what saved means.
I hope and pray that we don’t lose the word or the accoutrements of what that word means. We should not only say it, but expect it. We should live it out. We should promise it. We should model it. I thank God today that I’m saved. Rather than lose the word, I want to explain it more than ever. I took a prayer walk yesterday and quoted at least seven verses with the word “saved” or “salvation” it them (1 Peter 1:9; Psalm 34:6; Matthew 24:13; Joel 2:32; Romans 10:9; Ephesians 2:8; Titus 3:5). The Bible beckons us to take the term and the experience seriously. It promises much without apology. My experience resonates. I am glad that I am saved. I want more people to grab the experience.