My six year old came to me the other night and told me that he wanted to get saved. He had been at VBS all week and his cousin had also gotten saved. He asked me how to do it? What did he need to say? I told him that he needed to ask Jesus to trade lives with him. To ask Him to take his life and give him His. It seemed to be good enough for my son. He prayed. My wife seemed afraid that maybe he was too young to understand or that maybe he didn't say the right words. I though about that. I came to the conclusion that if Jesus would turn down a 6 year old boy because he didn't say the right words or have his motivation down pat then we are all hopeless. It also led me to consider what exactly it means to be saved. Saved from what? Saved from Hell? That's what I've been told all my life but Jesus has saved me from so much more. Mostly me. His Holy Spirit speaking to me when I didn't know exactly what to do. His love penetrating my heart when I was ready to give it away to the world. I don't know what the Lord has in store for my son. But I do know that he is crucified with Christ and the Life that he now lives he lives by the faith of the Son of God who loved him and gave Himself for him. Yep Jesus will get ripped off in this life trade. He won't get in return what He has given my son. But He did it any way.
Now I have struggled with what it really means to serve God for a long, long time. I was raised to believe that my service was simply to go to church on Sunday. That's it. As I grew I began to think that it was more of a service to me and to others than it was to God. Not that serving others isn't pleasing to God if done in faith, but they wanted us to serve them by doing things that would benefit them and not necessarily God. Serve on this committee, clean this, do this, sing this. But what does it mean to serve God? Does God want us to be servants? Jesus clearly contradicts this by saying that we are no longer slaves but sons. What's the difference in the service of a slave and the service of a son? The difference to me seems to be the attitude of the father more than the attitude of the son. If the father thinks of the son as someone who will benefit him then the service of the son is no different than that of a slave. However if the father thinks of his son as someone who will benefit from being with him, learning from him, growing as a result of his love and becoming who the father dreamed he would be, then the son's service is a natural out pouring of who the father is making the son to be. So what does it mean to serve God? Could it be as simple as knowing who you are in Him and "being" who He created you to be?
Grace
Hither by His Grace I've come
From whence Sin was my name.
I thought for me a life of glee
He choose for me some pain.
I thought that it would kill me,
I struggled in the war.
But its only made me more like Him
though He must change me more.
Would that I could be like Him
by doing what is good.
I'd do and do and do some more
till I'd done all I could.
But doing does not change me or
I'd be a better man;
So I'll wait on Grace to do His Work
It is a better plan.
Hither by His Grace I've come
I've not been left alone;
His Grace has brought me safe thus far
Its sure to lead me home.
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paul franklin
