A Present Salvation

In this moment, we can grasp at eternity, seize salvation, and transform the finite by fusing it with the infinite.

Far too many of us fret and worry about our eternal fates. We do so to the detriment of our daily lives. For many Christians, the emphasis of faith and religion is placed upon individuals making decisions about their eternal salvation. To emphasize this is not inappropriate, but to over-emphasize it is dangerous.

What good is eternal salvation when we turn a blind eye to poverty, violence of all kinds, and the tangible pain of our neighbors? What good is salvation when we damn our neighbors to a lifetime of suffering in hell on earth?

This life is but a blink of an eye, a single note played by one instrument in the middle of an orchestra during a symphony. Eternity can, and to many, should, be of the utmost importance. Please don’t hear me saying that we shouldn’t care about eternity, that it really doesn’t matter. It is engrained within the very fabric of the human imagination to hope and long for eternal bliss.

My hope is that there is life after death, and that this life is filled with peace, love, and joy. But my hope is also that there is life before death. If I understand Jesus’ message properly and correctly, the life to come is surely important, but he also speaks way more to earthly life. He seems to be more focused on a present salvation, one that frees us in this life on this side of eternity.

The Kin-dom, as preached by Jesus, was far more focused on this life than the next. Honestly, Jesus didn’t talk about eternity all that often. He may have made many of us uncomfortable with his focus on the lived realities of the people listening. If some of us were in the shoes of those early listeners, we may have clamored for him to stop talking about the poor and the oppressed and focus on ‘preaching the Gospel’.

Jesus is constantly disappointing us, defying our expectations, and offering us so much more. Salvation is not only something we can hope for in the future, but it is something we can grasp here in this moment, resting in a present salvation.

Do not turn your eyes heavenward while ignoring the cries of the oppressed echoing in a cacophonous chorus all around us. When someone is thirsty, give them something to drink, not a sermon. When someone is hungry, feed them. When someone is naked, clothe them. Let your actions be your sermon, transforming the world through tangible love and care.

Jesus is more than an idea. He is the person crying out for help before us. He is the slave seeking freedom. He is the woman abused by her husband. He is the child walking to school in below-freezing temperatures. He is the homeless man who hasn’t had a warm meal in a week.

Jesus is not just the coming king. He is the salvation found in the present, the tangible love that we can give to our neighbor.

He is us in the flesh.