JESUS SAVES. FROM WHAT? TO WHAT?

What does it mean for a person to be saved? Jesus used the expression, but what our Lord meant was probably different than the meaning that I grew up thinking it meant. I saw a one-dimensional salvation when I was growing up: We talked about saving a soul from hell. Salvation was what a follower of Christ received in the afterlife.

When Jesus spoke of being saved, He referred to a kind of holistic kingdom thing. "Your faith has saved you" is equally translated "Your faith has healed you." We can be saved from disease, or from self-centered absorption. We can be saved from temporal mindset, or from sinful addictions. We can be saved into a life of love, or into being a person in covenant with God.

If I speak to my neighbor of release from the flames of hell, but I don't address either his current felt need for purpose in life or a sense of belonging, then I have missed the point. If I tell my neighbor that his doctrine is wrong and he must repent to a new set of beliefs, but I have not shown him unconditional love and demonstrated to him mercy, then I have offered a drowning man a drink of water.

Jesus saves. From hell. From self. From sin. From Satan. From error. To love. To community. To health. To wholeness. To life. I have been saved. I am being saved. I will one day be saved. Praise the Lord for such a great salvation.
-ker