Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Someone else's perspective

As a Christian, and especially as a summer missionary with Child Evangelism Fellowship, I have always thought a lot about the unsaved person praying to receive Jesus Christ as his/her personal Savior. We usually call it a "profession of faith" because the prayer itself doesn't save you--you must first understand that you are a sinner and the Jesus died to take the punishment for your sin, and that He came alive again. Personally, my mom led me in the "sinner's prayer" when I was almost 5 years old, but I don't actually remember that day. Does that mean I wasn't really saved then or that it wasn't meaningful to me? No! It means most little boys don't remember what happened when they were 4 when they are 10 or older. I know I am saved and going to Heaven because of what Jesus did for me, and I accept it. I know the Holy Spirit is within me because I see how He works in my life.

I have been reading Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist 1 by Michael J. Fox. It is a very interesting read, and I feel that I have much more understanding and respect for stem cell research. Part Three of the book is titled "Faith," and I was very interested in what the actor who played Marty McFly had to say about his personal views. He is a faithful husband and loving father who seems to be generally moral, and he believes in a higher power who is looking out for him, but he apparently never saw the need to accept Jesus as his Savior from sin. Growing up he had a friend named Russ who came from a Christian family. Here is an excerpt from the book:

"He reminded me that during a New Year's party, 1972 into 1973, in our friend Rusty's basement, I had accepted Christ as my personal savior. Myself, I was a little fuzzy on those details. I remembered that I had a deep and spiritual interest in Rusty's rapidly developing big sister Karen, a born-again herself and a major player in the crusade to win eighth-grade souls for Christ. Anyway, it seemed to have had more of on impression on Russ over the years than it did on me."

It made me kind of sad to read that, but everyone has to make a personal decision. Maybe Michael will come around, but being a relatively good person doesn't cut it--salvation comes through Christ alone!

1 Fox, Michael J. Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist. New York: Hyperion, 2009.

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