The other day on YouTube I watched the second episode of The Chosen an independently produced film series on the life of Jesus. There was a touching scene where a variety of people who didn’t know each other, but knew Mary Magdalene, gathered at Mary’s home to celebrate the Passover feast. Mary used to live a tortured life under demon possession, but Jesus miraculously healed her earlier. She didn’t know who he was, but on Passover he showed up at her house. Surprised yet honored she asked him to pray at the meal. Jesus smiled and said instead he’d love to hear Mary pray. Can you imagine? The God of the universe who loves you and saved your life comes to your house and wants to hear from you. It’s a beautiful picture of the relationship God desires to have with you. He wants you to be with him. God makes that possible through Jesus. It’s through Jesus that he saves you from your sinful rebellion which ends in death and invites you to be reconciled and live with him.
To experience the incredible blessing of knowing God you must receive Jesus as your savior. He is the only way to know God and live with him now and forever. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6). Jesus came to save not only Israel, but people from every nation, tribe, and tongue including you and me. “To all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God (John 1:12).
In addition to that glorious truth, I wanted to spotlight an aspect of salvation that sometimes gets overlooked. Salvation is both a reconciling event as I just described and an ongoing sanctifying process. When you initially receive Jesus he forgives your sin and you join God’s family. He also gives you his Holy Spirit to live in you and through you. Then with the Holy Spirit’s help in order to deepen your relationship with God you continue to receive Jesus.
There are tremendous blessings from receiving Jesus as he calls you to himself each day. Jesus warned the church in Laodicea not to be lukewarm in their faith, not to be deceived, and not to rely on their prosperity or they would be rejected. Today many nominal Christians are like the church in Laodicea. Jesus exhorted them to receive him. “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me” (Revelation 3:20). The apostle, Paul, encouraged believers, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13). Notice the phrase, “as you trust,” in other words, as you place your faith in Jesus he imparts his joy, peace, and hope. Jesus encouraged his followers to ask, seek, and knock you. When you do you are looking to receive. God answers your sincere seeking by giving you wisdom through his Spirit (Luke 11:9-13; James 1:5). Receiving Jesus involves listening and yielding to his Spirit in you. His Spirit illuminates what Jesus taught, counsels you, comforts you, strengthens you with courage, self-control, and power, and enables you to bear fruit that pleases God (John 14:26; John 16:13-15; 2 Timothy 1:6-7; 1 Corinthians 2:10-11; Ats 1:8; Ephesians 1:17-20; Galatians 5:22-25). We all need to receive Jesus and the joy, peace, hope, wisdom, love, and power he gives through his Spirit especially during the daily stress and uncertainty of this pandemic. As you receive Jesus you understand more fully his character and mission and you become more like him. You desire to be holy as he is holy–set apart for God’s purpose and his glory so he is free to use you to seek, to serve, and to save others.
If your life was a house (a metaphor adapted from C.S. Lewis), receive Jesus into every room like Mary did. Don’t just chat on the patio and not welcome him in. Don’t just converse in the living room or kitchen. Ask him to stay for dinner. Share your ideas and dreams. Invite him to spend the night. Open your closet of secrets to him. Allow him to clean out the dirt and junk. Permit him to trim the yard and rip out the weeds. Accept his repairs for things gone wrong or that don’t work. Join him when he starts demolishing your home and remodeling. For it will become more grand than you could have ever imagined. In time people will see that your lowly shack has been replaced by a breathtaking, majestic palace designed and indwelt by the King of kings, almighty God. Hopefully they will receive him when he visits their house next.
I know during these trying times and sheltering in place it may be tempting not to receive Jesus. You might want to just close your doors and rely on yourself or open a window and look to various leaders for solutions. But only Jesus can fully heal and restore our broken homes, our self-inflicted problems, and our fallen world. He does that one day at a time for all who receive him and want to live for him rather than themselves. Soon he will return to earth to complete this process. When he does, will he find you faithful?
I’ll conclude with a message from the apostle, Peter, who encouraged believers along this line. Hopefully it encourages you with the truth that you don’t have to be overwhelmed by this crisis, by your circumstances, or by your sin. Instead you can be bolstered by the victory you can have through receiving Jesus each day.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls…Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy'” (1 Peter 1:3-9, 13-16).