My friend Jonathan has described what salvation means to him… and I loved it! Be sure to check out his post.

On the spur of the moment, I decided that I needed to write about what salvation means to me. Maybe you would like to take a shot at it. You can link back here or write in the comments.

I think I needed to write this.

Things I Needed To Be Saved From

Guilt
Salvation means the sin issue is taken care of. I won’t be paying for all my personal disobedience and I don’t have to worry about condemnation for that old timey Sears catalogue listing of sins. Salvation means no guilt. I get that… sometimes, but other times I feel as guilty as Hell. Sometimes I hate myself. I have a tendency to search for any speck of anything other than sweetness and light and dwell on it. Thank God that is changing. I am saved from guilt!

Shame
I think shame is a bigger deal than guilt for me. I look for things to be ashamed about and fear that I must have blow this or that and that people will think I am stupid or that I am really am stupid. This shame trip isn’t helping me be like Jesus. I think it follows, if I have no guilt because of Christ, I have no shame because of Christ. I am saved from shame!

Regret
I am a rehearing, rehashing, analytical freak. I think I have made a vast array of bad decisions and chased some of wrong dreams that turned into nightmares. Yet, I have come to the conclusion that the past is only good for confessing (where I have screwed up), forgiving (where people have hurt me), learning (from mistakes and experiences), and thanking God (for the blessings). It does not control me. I am saved from my regrets!

System
This one might seem a little weird. One of things that Jesus saved people from was the religious system of the day with its misguided, oppressive demands. Personally, I believe that our church system has unwittingly oppressed people with some misguided, oppressive threads in its modus operandi. I was immersed in the system for twenty years as a pastor. I spent another nearly five years trying to find a place in the system all over again and this system has beat the shit out of me in a whole bunch of ways. My salvation comes from knowing that I don’t have to fit into this system. I don’t have to fight my way back into it to find a place to fulfill my identity. I am saved from the system!

Me
My biggest problem is me. I get preoccupied with my … whatever and then I miss opportunities that God brings my way. So, part of salvation is setting me from me. There is something very beautiful about this. It is a matter of being able to truly receive what God has given me and taking great joy in it. It is having a peaceful heart that has accepted his grace, love, peace, and all that he says about my identity as his child. When I do that, I am free. What am I a free to do? I am free to be an agent spreading around his grace and peace to others. I am free to focus on the people he loves that he brings into my world. I am free to be totally present n the moment. I am saved from me!

I am sure there are more things that I am saved from and for. Salvation has been an ongoing discovery process for me. Damn, I am free!!!!