A Layne Post

A recent question in one of my Bible studies Brave asked, “What does being saved mean to you?”

I felt myself reflecting on that as I thought about this weekend, this remembrance of what Christ did for me – His blood spilled so that I may live, His body raised and Holy Spirit given.

My recent reading of Ann Voskamp’s devotional One Thousand Gifts influenced my response to the question. In one of her journals Ann says, “That in Christ, time is not running out. This day is not a sieve, losing time. In Christ, we fill – gaining time.” A couple days later she expounds a little more saying, “Time is not running out… With each passing minute, each passing year, there’s this deepening awareness that I am filling, gaining time. We stand on the brink of eternity.”

So what does being saved mean to me?

It means I am no longer a dying person. I have received this incredible opportunity that I no longer have to live this life counting down minutes, counting down days, trying to “fit it all in”, waiting for some end. Instead I am able to fill my minutes and my days – fill them up to eternity. I get to soak it all in, experience it to the fullest, slow down enough to take note of Him – to thank Him. I get to live in glorious anticipation of eternity.

In my ministry it has shaken things up. What does this mean for the dying person given months or weeks to live? Christ is hope. He can be yours. Hope can be yours. If you are breathing you still have time to live – to fill. In Christ there is no end… maybe transition, but no end.

 

Thank you, Jesus for what you did on that dark Friday. (John 19:28-37)

Thank you that your blood offered in place of mine only brought hope and peace to this dying and far away soul. (Ephesians 2:11-17)

Thank you for defeating the grave and living again – that I too might live. (Luke 24:6-8)

Thank you for expelling fear. (1 John 4:18, Romans 8:15)

Thank you for hope. (1 Peter 1:3-9)

Thank you for eternity. (Titus 3:4-7)