Dear Friend,
The Lord is My Shepherd by Eastman Johnson
National Museum of American Art
I’ve been thinking about what you asked me, and what the best way to explain it would be. I don’t claim to have all the answers; remember I’m a seeker just like you, but here goes. I’d like to begin by saying that the only type of behavior we need to discuss here is spiritual behavior, the type of behavior which concerns your relationship with God—not if you do or do not smoke, do or do not drink, what you eat, what you wear, or what you look like.
What does it mean to be “born again” or “saved?” Saved from what? “I’ve been saved” is a phrase which describes the spiritual rebirth that happens to someone who has come to an understanding of their true relationship with God.
As you were physically born of your mother, you can only be reborn or “born again” of your Father in Heaven. This rebirth results in an awakening of your spirituality, a re-direction of your spiritual thought processes. Consider this: There’s something missing you can’t quite put your finger on. God is knocking at your door.
He actually began softly whispering, calling to you when you were born. As you grew, there were louder voices, things to do, places to go, so perhaps you didn’t hear God’s still, small voice. It’s there. It’s always been there. Your Father is calling you every minute of every day, He’s just not pushy or rude or loud. He’s polite, loving, kind, and consistent. He’s always there, always calling. He’s always on the case, looking out for you, too.
You’ve probably had times that you got out of a scrape, a wreck, a problem, and you just can’t believe how lucky you were. So, now you know, it wasn’t luck. It never has been. Your Father is on the case, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, loving you and protecting you.
The whole thing started a long time ago when God created the world. He made animals and plants, the sun, the moon, seas, mountains, bugs and humans. He did a pretty cool job of it too. Pretty soon though, we humans learned to lie, cheat, steal, and do all sorts of things God hadn’t intended for us to do. To let us know what He intended, God gave us laws to follow, Ten Commandments. We followed those for awhile, but pretty soon we picked up right where we left off, doing what we thought was right, not giving much thought to God. No one was following God’s rules. The world was falling apart. Something had to be done.
Now God’s in sort of a hard place. He can’t go back on His word, His Commandments, and say “That’s all right, you don’t have to do what I told you, never mind about those rules." If that was so, why make the rules in the first place? Breaking any rule has consequences.
God, our Father, loved us then and still loves us now, so much. He desired then, and desires now, a loving, fathering relationship with us.
He looked down and saw that His creation was in need of repair. He knew that His presence was too large, too awesome, and too frightening for humans to deal with. But the world He had created needed to be put right. So God took a piece of himself and created a Son, in a human form, that we could relate to as one of our own kind. God sent this Son to Earth. He would accept the consequences of our not following God’s rules. This Son would lead us back to God and show us how to put our world right. God’s Son would bear our consequences and be whipped, beaten, starved, and hung naked on a wooden pole, to die a slow, agonizing death—all because we humans messed up the rules.
And God was writing a very important new rule: I know you’re going to keep on messing up, just believe in the Man who is taking all the punishment for you, and try and do the very best you can. This new order replaces the old one. It’s a new plan.
The awesome realization that this action was done on your behalf, done because your Father loves you personally, causes you to love Him. From that love, a chain reaction of love begins.
So it’s simple: Believe, and tell God that you believe, that Jesus is His Son who lived and died for you, to bring you into a new relationship with Him. Tell God right now, out loud. Just say this:
Dear God, I believe that Jesus is your Son, who lived and died for me, to bring me into a new relationship with you. I thank you for that, and that you love me so much. I’d like to follow whatever plan you have for my life, because I know that in your love, it will be the best thing for me. Talk to you soon.
There you have it. You’re saved. It’s that simple. The rest will follow.
When ever you need a “tune-up,” and you will, just read the above prayer (I forgot to tell you that’s what that was), aloud again. Then sit back and see what happens. Please keep me posted on how things work out.
Oh yeah, and I love you too.