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by Chuck Davis
This is the third and final column dealing with doubts about one’s faith. In the first column we examined the question of God’s very existence; in the second we looked at God’s sovereignty, or the superintending of His creation. In the present column we examine the uniqueness of Jesus as the Incarnate Word and Savior of mankind. This is by far the most personal of the three questions, for salvation is, after all, a very personal experience. Thus I must address it in a very personal way. John 14:6 says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but by me.” Do I ever doubt that fact, and have I indeed come to the Father by trusting in Christ alone for my redemption and personal salvation? How do I know that I am truly saved?
A story is told about an old farmer who was prone to become excited when he started talking about what Jesus meant to him. The only problem was that he was usually found working alongside his mule when he began to shout praises to God. At this shout the mule would bolt and run away. Somebody suggested to the farmer that it might be wise whenever he was thus overcome by the joy of the Lord to first ask someone to hold his mule.
Now if one is reserved by nature, it is difficult for such a person to express in exuberant fashion the joyfulness he or she experiences in knowing and praising God in Christ. Perhaps if one is raised in a Pentecostal background it comes a bit more naturally, but for the rest of us there is a kind of reluctance to demonstrate our joy in anything approaching ostentatious fashion. In my younger days as a pilot, flying would sometimes be canceled because of very stormy weather. The flight line would be “buttoned up,” and the pilots and crew chiefs would all retire to the hangars or go home. On some of these occasions I would venture out to the furthest plane on the line, jump up on the wing and sing praises to the top of my lungs. Nobody could see me. What was surely even better, no one but God alone could hear me!
Introduced to Jesus as a very young child, there was never a conscious moment in my life when Jesus was not a very real personality to me. But there came a time when I slipped into an empty chapel alone, knelt at the altar, and committed my life wholly to Jesus – and life has never been the same since. What precipitated this? I didn’t curse, smoke, drink alcohol or participate in myriad other “shady” activities, but the Holy Spirit convicted me of my wretched condition and utter unworthiness, and drew me to Him – I needed redemption, and the promise of a Redeemer was an attraction that was irresistible. Extraordinary indeed must be the one who comes to Christ without a profound sense of his own unworthiness, for the siren song of the need for redemption must surely echo in all but the hardest of hearts.
Yes, I know He lives and that I am His because I have an unquenchable desire to please Him in my life. This is proof positive of my salvation. How many times have I fallen face down on the floor, stretched out my hands to God and implored His intercession – and He has never failed me! What marvelous joy floods over my entire being when I ponder His goodness and grace beyond comprehension! Unashamedly, I appropriate the words of the hymn writer in making this confession: “My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine. For Thee all the follies of sin I resign; My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou: If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus ‘tis now.” Somebody hold my mule!
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