YOU CAN GET THERE FROM HERE

Perhaps you have heard someone, when asked for directions, say, “You can’t get there from here.” Of course, the statement is not meant literally. The person is saying that the destination desired cannot be reached by a simple, direct route. There may be many turns, crooked curvy roads, or other difficulties. Considering our salvation, you can get there from here. I am not saying living a Christian life is easy, but the directions and instructions are simple, readily available, and easy to understand and follow.

In regards to our initial salvation from sin, the Bible gives clear instructions. In Ephesians 1:3 we read, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” Paul says every spiritual blessing is in Christ. That would certainly include forgiveness from our sins. If we want to reach the destination of salvation, we must enter Christ. How do we enter Christ? Again, the Scriptures give the answer. “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27). The Bible says we are baptized into Christ. That baptism is based on hearing the gospel (Romans 10:17), believing in Jesus (John 8:24), repenting of sin (Acts 17:30), and orally confessing your faith in Christ (Romans 10:9-10). That is it. If you will do these things, you are in Christ, you are forgiven, you are saved.

That is not all there is to salvation, however. Once you have obeyed the previous commands, you must live the Christian life. Do you realize over half of the New Testament is primarily written to Christians instructing them on living a Christian life. It is not an easy task, but the instructions are straightforward (Romans 12; Galatians 5:21-22; Ephesians 4:25-32; 2 Peter 1:5-8; 1 John 1:5-10). These passages, and many others, will instruct us in living the Christian life in such a way that we can remain a faithful member of the body of Christ.

All of this leads us to our final destination, heaven. In John 14:2-3, Jesus says that he is going to prepare a place for us and that He will come again and receive us into that place. It has been said that heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people. You will not enter heaven by accident. It will take much effort, diligence, and patience, but you can get there from here. “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:6-8).
--Lamar

FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT

There are battles we face in life that are fought and won in a short time: passing tests, playing games, solving a puzzle in the newspaper, or winning at a sporting event. We engage in these battles and occupy our time with them at least in part because they grant us instant satisfaction and a measure of self confidence.

Other battles involve more time in fighting and winning: graduating from high school or college, getting a promotion at work, rearing children, achieving retirement. These battles are of greater importance because there is a significant achievement providing a greater and more lasting sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. With each of these two types of battles, we can win the battle and move on to other things.

However, there are some battles that are continuing struggles and we will never completely win the battle until death. They are constant battles that require daily efforts and struggles on our part. For a society that is accustomed to seeing complex crimes solved in one hour on television, sporting events started in finished in two or three hours, and completing the sudoku in 30 minutes, the longevity of these battles is hard to accept. We only win this battle by continuing to fight.

Wanda and I have been trying to establish a daily habit of exercising, and also being a little more careful in our diet to lose some weight. This is not a battle you can fight for a few hours, or a few days, or a few weeks, or even a few years. It is a battle you must continue fighting. A while back, we were walking about two miles six days a week. The exercise helped us feel better and actually helped us watch our diet. We both started losing some weight. Then, things got a little hectic in our schedule and we missed a few days. Before long it was a week and then months since we had exercised on a daily basis. Guess what happened. The weight loss stopped. We had quit fighting the battle.

The Christian life is this kind of battle. It is not one to be fought and won today, but an ongoing fight. Some might find it discouraging, but I think just the opposite is true. If we accept the fact that our battle is an ongoing one, I believe we will have a great weight lifted from our shoulders. The person who is constantly telling himself, “I gave to win today!” will soon be hopeless and give up. If Wanda and I try to achieve our goal of losing weight and being in better shape in a matter of days, or weeks, we will be doomed to failure. Why? Because it is a battle that continues to be fought even after we have achieved some measure of success. The same is true of the Christian life. As we struggle and battle each day, we can achieve some measure of success. However, we must continue the battle tomorrow or we will gain nothing, and may even lose what was gained yesterday. Paul told Timothy, “Fight the good fight of the faith” (1 Timothy 6:12). It was a battle that Paul was only expecting Timothy to win by continuing to fight it, and the same is true for us today.

Today we fight the battle. Our victory is through our faith on a daily basis (1 John 5:4). If we continue the battle, we will overcome.
--Lamar