Why We Need A Savior.........Or Do We?

I was browsing through some random blogs tonight when I came across one that was titled “Atone”. One of the articles was regarding Rob Bell who wrote “Love Wins”. From what I could tell it was simply a restating of what others had said in their review of the book. The big issue they had with Rob Bell was his questioning of whether or not hell exists and if it does why would that be acceptable to God. The blog took issue with this because they feel it negates the need for a Savior. So I have thought about that………what did Jesus come to save us from if he did? Did he really only come to save us from an afterlife spent in Hell? If that is what he came to do then why didn’t he just say that. Why all the teaching about how to live this life. It would seem to me that Jesus was more interested in life here on earth than he was in some afterlife. So I don’t think he came to save us from Hell. So do we really need a Savior? I think so……we need a savior to love us because we loathe ourselves. We need a Savior to forgive us because we can’t forgive ourselves. We need a Savior to listen to us because we don’t have a clue how to listen whether it’s to ourselves or to others. We need a Savior to walk with us because we so often run others off who would walk with us. We need a Savior for many reasons but I don’t find the afterlife to be a real compelling reason for a Savior. We need a Savior to redeem us from well…us. We have turned on ourselves and we have separated ourself from the part of us that recognizes God. We can’t see the good in ourselves so how could we ever recognize the God in us…….we are made in God’s image but we spend a lifetime trying to erase that image from our heart and our mind. We don’t believe we are worthy to be made in God’s image…….That is why we need a Savior……..to save us from ourselves and put us back together.

Giving Thanks

In a book I am reading, the central thought is about giving thanks. One of the themes she carries throughout the book is that giving thanks always precedes the miracle. This seems to be true for things like turning the water into wine and especially feeding the many with a few loaves of bread and some fish. What strikes me most are the not so obvious miracles that take place after giving thanks. One such miracle is the opening of the eyes of the men who walked unknowingly with the resurrected Christ.

When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from [j]their sight.

When Jesus gave thanks then the miracle happened. They saw who he really was. When we give thanks for those around us we begin to see them differently. Our perspective is different when the framework is one of thankfulness rather than our usual perspective of viewing the world as if we stand in the center of it. It is hard to be thankful for something which we don’t value. The boy with the small amount of food on the hillside valued what he had enough to think that it would make a difference somehow. Jesus received what the boy valued and gave thanks and somehow it was enough. If we are thankful then it is most always enough. If we are not thankful then most often it is not enough.

Filling Emptiness

We live looking searching
To fill the emptiness of birth
Finally grasping something of substance
Pouring in to fill us
As it seeps thru our hearts
Leaving as it came
The holes of emptiness are bigger still