Meditations from Zion

Ephesians 2:8
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God…

I am currently reading The Jesus Creed by Scot McKnight who made this comparison between views of salvation.

So often, people think of salvation as a “birth certificate” and once they’re born again, the work is done and they have their “pass” into heaven. But his Jesus Creed, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. [Luke 10:27] takes more than just a “pass.” Hence, the idea of a Driver’s License in which we learn and become better at the skill.

Love is a skill. Love is conscious. Love is intentional. Love is risk. Love is trust. Love is kind. Love is patient. Love is other-oriented. Therefore, love is also humility.

These do not come naturally to us. I think it’s interesting that I Corinthians 13, the great “love” chapter, actually highlights all the things that love is NOT more so than what love is. Perhaps this is because we more familiar with the “nots” of love.

I have two teenagers who have put off learning to drive a car for almost 2 years. They have plenty of friends, a brother, and parents, who have been hauling them around. They have not seen a “need” for a driver’s license. A driver’s license is a scary business. How many of us remember that first day we got behind a wheel? When did we really start getting comfortable as drivers? So often, we take the whole process for granted.

I can see this applying to a lot of Christians (including me). As long as we remain in our safe environments, go to church every Sunday, drop a buck or two in the offering plate, attend a workshop or a covered dish, we’re good. The driver’s license form of salvation requires more of us… of me. I mean, I’ve had my Jesus license for 30 years. Isn’t it time to start driving into some unfamiliar roads and places?

My daughter has finally started driving practices. She is fearful of all the other drivers. She still drives very slowly. She is very cautious. When we start using our Jesus license, we will be the same way. But, in the end, we must build up our speed. We must trust what we know. We must integrate all the rules with the pleasure of it. We must teach others to drive. And that’s the scariest part of all.