Source

…and when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him… Hebrews 5:9

For a non-electrical person, you see the the wall convenience outlet as the source of electricity. Yeah, that's the small colored white or off-white plastic patched on your wall. You get power from it. You power your devices from it. For an electric person, that rectangular thingy is just a convenience outlet. It's a channel not the source. Behind your electric outlet are strands of copper wire with maybe length of some hundred miles. At the end of those wires is a generator, which generates electric power. That's the source. It's the spring of electric everything. It's the fount of why you have lighting and you can work your appliances. Most of the time we don't acknowledge it as the source since we only see the outlet for convenience. 

Ha! Convenience.

Some people may say I don't need Jesus as I don't do harm to my neighbor. Some people may say I follow all laws and regulations, I am good. You keep your obligations to your family, work and country, you're a model citizen. You do social work. You feed the hungry. You help at the senior's housing. You educate street kids. You volunteer at the orphans' asylum. This is what we call - good without God. Isn't this convenience?

The writer to the Hebrews cleared this long time ago. Jesus is the source of salvation. He is the generator of salvation. Jesus is the spring of our deliverance. He alone is. Our obedience is a channel. Our goodness is an outlet. Our good works are wires.

Be glad salvation doesn't depend on us. For Jesus is the source of eternal salvation.

God Loves Me

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. John 3:16
 
What does it mean?

I don't need to perform to gain His love.
I can't do anything that will decrease or increase His constant love for me.
His love is not dependent on somebody's love for me.
He loves me despite I fail to love Him.
I can categorically fail to love someone, yet He will not fail to love me any single second.
His love is a gift, He gives it freely, I receive it freely.
I can make a big time mistake at work or at home, His love for me isn't affected by that.
His love is not dependent the way I love myself.
I will experience hardships and difficulties and these things don't measure His love for me.
Someday somehow I will feel unloved, yet this loving God still loves me.
I will fail in attaining my dreams, it doesn't mean His love has failed me.
I will fall into sin again and again, again and again He will assure me of His love.
There will be hunger and strife in the world, it does not mean lack of His love.
Seasons will change, my situations will change, His love will not.
An important person whom I admire snubs me, I cannot equate this as fading of God's love.
I don't keep my prayer time and scripture time, I still keep His love.
Where I am in life doesn't mean where I am in His love.
I can go on vacation, His love doesn't.
I love with limitations, He knows no such when it comes to love- He gave His only Son.

He loves me. Period.

Sons More Than Servants

"I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers."...He said to his father in reply, 'Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends. Luke 15:19, 29

What we see is different in what He sees.

Two sons in the eyes of their Father. Two servants in the eyes of the sons.

The younger son coming back from being prodigal sees himself not worthy to be a son. He looks downs on himself and maybe his father may accept him as one of his servants. Why not? He sinned against the father. Yet, the father sees the prodigal son as his son more than his servant.

The older son coming back from serving at the field sees himself as the father's servant. He debates the celebration at their house about him being a loyal and an obedient servant of the father. Why not? He served the father. Yet, the father sees the steady servant as his son more than his servant.

Familiar, isn't it?

When we come back from nowhere to the Father, we see ourselves as His servants. That's good. That's right. Yet, our Master sees us as His sons. He looks at us, even if we are declaring ourselves to be His slaves, as His sons and daughters. This gives us more than being to serve Him. It gives us security, our relationship with Him is not based on our service but on His being a Father to us. It gives us equality, you maybe a power preacher, a lowly chair arranger or a person who works at the church background, when we face Him we are all His children. It gives us the spirit of brotherhood, since we are His sons and we serve the Father, we are called to love and support one another.

When you look, don't look with your eyes. He sees us as His sons more than His servants.

Levels

And he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground. A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases… Luke 6:17-18a

The verses above signify three levels of followers of Jesus.

The first level of following Him may be illustrated by the members of the large number of people. Maybe these are the people who want something from Him yet do not want what He wants for them. People who come to Him during time of their needs. They come when they are sick. They come to Him when they are hungry.  They follow Him for their benefits. They look for Him when they needed someone to look after them. And when they are satisfied, they stop following. 

The next level, unnamed disciples who may have followed Jesus closely but not close enough to be named. They were described as part of a great crowd of disciples. Luke has not identified them maybe for lack of space in the manuscript or maybe you may not remember their names since they are part of a great crowd. A person who works with you but you don't know he is a Christian- he considers himself as a silent operator. A friend who says as long she is fulfilling all church obligations and is not doing any harm to anybody then she is OK. They take the safe route when opposition to the faith sets in the discussion.

Third, the twelve disciples, these men followed Him closely and were named in the preceding verses. So, what is the big fuss about Luke's enumeration of their name? They were exposed as Disciples of Christ. Men who stood where Jesus stood (v. 17). These followers spent their day and nights with Him. They ate with Him. They walk with Him. They rested with Him or on Him. They were witnesses in everything He did. As Jesus exposed Himself to be the Savior, they exposed themselves as His followers. 

Our direction is to ascend to the levels.  May we not remain being part of the people for the rest of our lives. May we desire to be named and be exposed in following Him. May we follow Him close enough, enough to be like Him. May we step from one level to another.

Relationships Matter

Even if you should have countless guides to Christ, yet you do not have many fathers, for I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 1 Corinthians 4:15

You read his books a lot and you are inspired by Max Lucado. You read tidbits of John Maxwell's principles on leadership and you are guided by him. You hear this preacher over the web and his talk gives you enlightenment. Their songs reverberate in your earpieces, gosh, Hillsong's music brings something in you. Subscribed to weekly insights of a preacher/businessman and your inbox becomes his pulpit enough to give you realizations.

Out there, we have countless guides to Christ. They point us to Jesus. They direct us to His cross. They assure us of His love. They inspire us. They put the fire in us. They prompt us to do good. And we should be to one another.

Further, Paul encourages us to be in relationships with one another. He became a father to the Corinthians. He could have limited himself as a guide for them. He could have told them, "I am your mentor." But he did not. He emphasized relationships. Here, Paul tells us that the members of the church or a community love one another. He gave the direction of being with one another. He presented that we are a family. Father to one another. Mother to one another. Brothers and sisters. Forbearing one another. Forgiving one another. Serving one another.

For Paul and for us, relationships matter.