God gives many gifts to His children, I’m sure most would agree. Do any of His gifts need to be actively received or are they passively bestowed? How about the gift of the Holy Spirit? When we believe in Jesus we are given the Holy Spirit – the Spirit is bestowed upon us. We need not believe this in order for it to be true. We need not believe in the gift in order to receive the gift. We need only believe in Him.
In the same vein, eternal life is not something we need to understand or believe to receive – it is bestowed upon us the moment we believe in Jesus, whether we fully understand/acknowledge it or not. So what does it mean to “believe” – so many verses point us to the fact that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God. It is the “heart” of who He is and therefore, I would posit, what one must believe in order to have the gift of eternal salvation bestowed upon them.
It gives me comfort to know that this encompasses all of Christendom, with its differences regarding fellowship, faith, Christian life, doctrines, dogmas and theological deviations – the tie that binds the church universal is Jesus Christ. I look forward to the day when Catholics and Protestants, Lordship adherents and Free Grace adherents, Calvinists and Arminians bask in the light of the Way, the Truth and the Life before the one true God forever. His yoke is easy…His burden is light.
2 comments:
Amen!
Great to see you posting again. ;-)
Thanks for the encouragement Kc - I've been a "creeper" on many blogs for some time. I think I'm actually learning how to listen rather than being quick to "talk"! I find through prayer and listening - my time lately has been more fruitful. Always appreciate your comments and insight!
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