The doorbell rings, and there, standing on the mat, are a pair of door-to-door evangelists: Jehovah’s Witnesses, maybe, or Latter-Day Saints, or something else. We’re sure that if we let them in, we’re going to end up disagreeing in a way that leaves everybody feeling icky. They’ll want us “saved,” and we’ll reject “salvation” under the conditions they lay out for us. What do we do?
My advice would be to let God do the talking. Jesus promised to give His followers “a mouth, and wisdom” in tight spots like these (Luke 21:15). Tell the truth, and trust that mouth. Your visitors think they’re on God’s business; you must remember that you’re always on God’s business, even when you’re just sweeping your own floor. For you belong to God, not to yourself. Or had you forgotten?
Whoever you are, and whatever your faith tradition (if any), Christ the Savior already indwells you. This was a great insight of the earliest Quakers: that Christ indwells every human, from the beginning to the end of the human race – otherwise we wouldn’t know right from wrong. The question is whether we welcome Him when He knocks at our door (Revelation 3:20). Have you welcomed Him?
Welcome Him now, let Him continue to wash you clean of all the sins and addictions that have been tempting you to hate yourself, and commit yourself, or re-commit yourself, to obeying His voice.
“Wait a minute,” you may say. “I’ve never heard a voice.” Perhaps you may add, “Anyway, I’m not sure I’m a Christian.”
What is it, then, that made you feel sick inside the last time you told a lie? That’s the Voice for Good, the Savior “speaking from heaven” (Hebrews 12:25), and there’s only One, though He may be known by other names in other cultures. You may or may not hear It as a voice in your mind (or not yet!), but It communicates, and that’s why It’s rightly called a voice. It’s the True Light that lights every human that comes into the world (John 1:9), showing us what’s the right thing to do and what’s the wrong thing. You may not see It as a literal light, but It shows the truth of things, and that’s why It’s rightly called a light. It’s not a “natural” part of us, like a finger or a gall bladder, but an aspect of God; and we must, once aware of It, choose to welcome or refuse It. If we come to the Light, Jesus told Nicodemus, we find that our “deeds have been done in God;” but if we shun the Light and flee from It into darkness, we condemn ourselves (John 3:19-21). To choose to welcome the Light is to choose Christ. It may sting at first, because the clear sight of things we used to love, say, and do may disgust us; but it was the right choice.
The key thing that makes a person a follower of Christ is not water baptism or public confession of Christian faith, but that first inward choice of accepting Christ. And if you accept Him you’ll want to obey Him. Sooner or later one says, in one’s heart and in one’s own words, “Always-good One, whenever my will differs from Yours, I want Your will to be done and not my own, now and forevermore. I surrender self-interest to You. Live within me and make me Your instrument.”
Once you’ve made such a self-consecration, Christ may or may not direct you to call yourself a Christian, belong to a church community, or adopt some practices and shun others. Those choices are now His to make, not yours. People around you may be critical of your actions, but you’re now answerable only to Him, not to them. You are now a member of His body (Romans 12:5, 1 Corinthians 12:27, Ephesians 5:30). He may put you into a community of like-minded people and make you answerable to them also; this is for your healthy growth in Christ, and theirs. He may require you to study Scripture. If He does, He’ll also “open” it for you, showing you the meaning He wants you to take from it. He will be your King, Parent, Teacher, Physician, Protector, Shepherd – your Savior in every way.
The question of your salvation has now vanished. It vanished when you said, “Your will be done and not my own.” Christ can be trusted to do what’s best with you. If you’re worried, you may ask Him: “Do You love me?” Don’t be surprised if He asks you in return: “Do you love Me?”
John Jeremiah Edminster (M. Div., Earlham School of Religion, 2019) worships regularly with Conservative Friends and hosts the Tuesday evening House of Light Friends’ Worship Group in his home in Richmond, Indiana. He carries a concern to promote surrender of self to Christ.
What does it mean to be a gathering space for thoughtful and creative reflections on the history, theology, and modern practices of the Church of the Brethren and related movements? Brethren Life & Thought has a long history of working to be such a space. We’re excited to bring our content online through DEVOTION: A Blog by Brethren Life & Thought. Here, you’ll find sermons and other writings from Brethren, Mennonite, and Quaker writers from a variety of theological and social contexts. Some weeks, you might read a piece that resonates with you. Some weeks, you might read a piece that challenges you. Some weeks, you might read a piece you think is heretical. For good or for ill, the Anabaptist and Peace Church movements are remarkably diverse in faith and practice. This blog attempts to expose our readers to the vastness of that diversity – even when it makes us uncomfortable. As you comment, which we highly encourage you to do back on our Facebook page, please remember to do so in light of our membership in the Body of Christ. Let us be different than the world for Jesus truly does invite us to another way of living.