We are saved through His life [in us]

When the first English settlers arrived in America, they established a small Fort, right where they landed. Later on it developed into a town called Jamestown. Things did not go brilliantly for them. The water supply was a bit salty, they struggled to provide food for themselves and there were many problems. Some did not survive. Life in the “New World” was not quite so full of the promise that they had hoped for. In the years to come, more people arrived from Europe who were by nature Pioneers rather than Settlers. They boldly explored this new land looking for the best that it had to offer.

Many Christians have a similar experience in their christian life. They submit their lives to the Kingship of Jesus, they leave everything behind to enter this new land, and they move into a Fort called Church. This was certainly my initial experience. Like the settlers in Jamestown Fort, surrounded by land inhabited by Indians (Native Americans), we Christians were in a Fort called The Church surrounded by land inhabited by people who were not christians. We felt surrounded. Eventually our new Fort developed into being Home. It became our Jamestown, the place that provided all we needed – a place of safety and security. In the day we would work/live “out there” among those who were not believers, but we could always come back to the safety of our Fort – church.

Just as for those early Settlers, life in our Fort did not quite match up to the promise of a vast new land to explore and win. But, at least we were saved, and safe, thanks to the Cross. Because that was what the Cross was all about wasn’t it; saving us and keeping us in a safe place. Or was it?

What this verse tells us is that Jesus death on the cross reconciled us to the Father. But this verse also tells us that there is much more. We are saved through His life. That means that our experience of salvation comes through the fact that Jesus is alive and He lives in us. The Cross is the entrance door to salvation, and that door opens up a whole new world of purpose, direction and power, made possible since Jesus lives in us.

The Cross is not the entrance door to the Fort, where I will be kept safe. The Cross is the border crossing into a new land. Jesus living in me is my authority to build His kingdom anywhere in this new land

Jesus died a horrible death on the cross because He loves me, because He wants a relationship with me. But more than that, He wants to carry on the ministry He started through me (and, of course, through you). Salvation is not a one-time experience, it is a lifestyle marked out by Jesus living powerfully in and through us as we partner with Him in continuing His ministry of extending the boundaries of His kingdom where “the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are being raised to life and the Good News is being preached”. This happens outside the safety of our Fort, in the surrounding land inhabited by the not-yet-believers.

It took me years to get this. I was caught up in the safety of the Fort system and in all the work of making the Fort comfortable for others. I never knew that Jesus wanted to partner with me like this. I thought I worked for Him. I didn’t realise He wanted to work with me. I thought I was unqualified and unworthy of that. I listened to the lies of the enemy. I never realised that He wanted to go out there with me, and that together we could have the time of our lives demonstrating His powerful kingdom.

Jesus didn’t just come to give us life. He wants to do life with us – the way that He does life.