Thanks for Nothing

Spirituality Column #107
November 25, 2008
Current! in Carmel (IN) newspaper
Current! in Westfield (IN) newspaper

Thanks for Nothing
By Bob Walters

There is nothing any of us can do to earn our salvation.

We may spend a ton of time worrying about it, but the fact is, God’s grace already has been defined for us in Jesus Christ. Our efforts to win salvation are not only vain, but also superfluous.

Our salvation – if we want it – is a done deal that cannot be undone; the Holy Spirit is alive, Christ is real and God does not change.

There are plenty of faith, hope and love actions we can do to make things go a little easier for us in this life – regardless of our circumstances – but our eternal destiny, entirely within our free will to receive, is entirely already taken care of.

In this Thanksgiving season, I don’t know how any of us can be more thankful for anything than that.

I spent a very large part of my life staying away from Christ. I didn’t want to be saddled with the caveats and confinements that I wrongly imagined to be the defining disciplines of Christianity: be afraid of God’s wrath, don’t sin, get up and go to church, forfeit free will and intellect.

Hmmm. Instead of God’s wrath, I now understand His love. Get up and go to church? I love getting up to go to church. Forfeit free will and intellect? I’ve discovered eternal freedom, and learned that the intellect of Christ is the most intense brainpower in the universe.

Sin? Well … I am a sinner. I’m aware of my sin and I know it will not now or ever go away because of my good works or intentions.

But … in God’s eyes my sin is already gone because Jesus Christ made it so (Romans 8:1). The point of His death on the Cross isn’t God’s wrath; it is God’s love. The Cross is not about Christ’s end; it is about mankind’s new beginning.

Now and forever, salvation is a gift that keeps on giving.

Like any gift, salvation is optional of course. We can’t earn it, but we do have to accept it. We aren’t sent to Hell; we walk away from God. Satan loves that.

Salvation is ours for the asking – a miracle – but you have to come and get it.

Think about that when they call you to Thanksgiving dinner.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) gives thanks to God for the love of our children, the grace of our being, and the beauty of this world. Amen.