losing everything to be saved
"Then who can be saved?" —Mark 10:26
We should rejoice when we "suffer the distress of many trials" (1 Pt 1:6), if these trials will help us achieve "faith's goal, (our) salvation" (1 Pt 1:9). We should be quite willing to sell everything we have and give the proceeds to the poor (Mk 10:21), if this is the way the Lord wants us to work out our salvation (Phil 2:12). We should even be willing to die at a young age "lest wickedness pervert" our minds "or deceit beguile" our souls (Wis 4:11). We have only one goal in life: to be saved. We will lose everything to gain our salvation (Lk 9:24).
I invite and challenge you to pray to the Lord: "I accept salvation — no matter what it takes." By praying this prayer, you are:
- saying that you will sacrifice everything to be saved,
- trusting in the Lord,
- increasing the likelihood of more sufferings in your life,
- increasing the likelihood of more joy in your life (see Col 1:24),
- making your life more simple,
- making your life more counter-cultural, and you therefore are more likely to be persecuted, and
- expressing the ultimate freedom.
Jesus is our Savior. Only through His name can we be saved (Acts 4:12). This is the only meaning of life. Accept Jesus as your Savior.
Prayer: Father, I put my life in Your hands.
Promise: "Praised be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, He Who in His great mercy gave us new birth." —1 Pt 1:3
Praise: St. Augustine spent the last twelve years of his life bringing the gospel of Christ to England.
Reference: (For related teaching, order our leaflet, Accepting Jesus as Lord, Savior, and God, or our audio tape AV 43-1 or video V-43.)
Nihil Obstat: Reverend Giles H. Pater, November 15, 2001
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, November 16, 2001