RECEIVE

 

Write From My Heart

September 24, 2021

RECEIVE  to accept as authentic, valid, etc.

John 1:10-13 (NIV) He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

            My heart tells me that this passage is often read with the mindset that we must receive (i.e., take as possession) Christ into our hearts. Yes, I have no dispute with this statement.  However I also see something deeper. Do we accept Christ as the only authentic, valid means whereby we must be saved? Too often I fear we take Christ into our hearts but still try to earn salvation by all the other things we do. We are always striving to do it our own way. Yet if we truly receive Christ as the only authentic, valid Savior; we must lay aside ourselves. It isn’t about self; it is about our Savior. The good we are able to do each day then becomes an extension of the Christian life, not the payment plan.

Acts 4:12 (NIV)  Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.

            Bottom line: You cannot be saved by your own name or good deeds—no matter how valiant your efforts—but only through the name of Jesus Christ. He is the only authentic, valid Savior. Your works do not make you a child of God. Only the work of Christ—his death and resurrection—can provide admission to the family of God.