Destined For Salvation

^“Jesus said … “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

My family usually starts thinking about summer vacation in January. That’s when our favorite seaside destination sends out a brochure for the new year. For us, that means it’s time to plan a road trip. By mid-June all the reservations have been made; and we are on the road. I know it’s old fashioned, but we are always equipped with tour books, maps, and printouts of ideas gathered during many hours of searching the internet (including Masstimes.org for the addresses of local churches). My husband drives and I navigate. For the most part, that system works pretty well for us. Now that our children are grown, we can spend a week or two on our own, taking in the sights and finding refreshment for body and soul.

Sometimes, after a day of doing all the things that tourists usually do, we like to skip the interstate and return to our hotel on back roads that wander through small towns and over rolling countryside. Along the way, we often discover quiet stretches of beach just begging to be explored, interesting shops, and the best little family-style restaurants and cafes. The only problem is that these wonderful back roads are not always well marked and may not even show up on my GPS. I sometimes think it will take a miracle for us to find our way home. And then we come upon a major intersection where a huge sign tells us to turn right if we want the turnpike West or Route 1 South or the interstate going North or a couple of local highways going in various directions. OR, we can turn left and get all those same roads going in the opposite direction! At that point, trusting my sense of direction may not be a great idea. It really might take a miracle to get us home!

The Christian life is often referred to as a journey, a sort of road trip to our eternal home. It is marked by signs that point in every direction and by choices that need to be made carefully. God speaks to us through events, good and bad, and through the people we meet every day. If we ignore what He is saying to us, it is like traveling country roads without a good map: it’s going to take a miracle to get home. Do you remember the day you stopped wandering around and started to head for home? Do you realize what a miracle that moment was? None of us finds our way on our own. Our sense of direction isn’t that good. ^“Jesus said … “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) Only God’s grace can turn us around and put us on the right path. Only He can point us toward home. And because we travel with Him, we know we are destined for salvation. “For God did not destine us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1Thessalonians 5:9)

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

Thanks be to God.