Salvation, a beginning not the end

If you've gone to an evangelical Church for any length of time, read any books by Bible believing Christians, or listened to/watched much current Christian radio or television you have heard people give their testimony. If you aren't quite sure what that term means, it's the person's salvation story. How they came to believe in Jesus as their personal savior. I have had the opportunity to hear quite a few and to give mine a few times. Most times they follow a similar pattern; either they were saved as a child or they spent years living a life of dissipation and then found God. The narrative ends shortly after their salvation event. This tends to give the wrong picture of what it means to be a Christian.

Telling about ones life prior to salvation can help to show, as yet, unbelievers that we Christians used to be just like them, lost. There is value in this, that's for certain. However, I think by not continuing the story we do a disservice to our audience. Finding your way to salvation is a very good thing, but it's only the first, very short, act of a very long play. I feel that where we have gone from that point and what we have learned is something that needs to be told as well. Without that part of the story it makes it sound like once you saved you are done, everything after that just comes naturally. Salvation is as much the beginning of a story as it is the end.

If it is the beginning of a journey, then there must be a goal at the end and trials along the way. Sometimes it becomes difficult to keep our focus on the direction we should be heading. There are just so many distractions in our lives.  Even in the "Church" part there are always programs, studies, sermon series that can distract us.  I know I find myself needing guidance, a roadmap so to speak sometimes. I would like to suggest reading The Sermon on the Mount at these times. It is three chapters of “red letter” instructions on how we should think and act as Christ followers.

I think more time spent applying this to our lives will go a long way to improving our walk with Christ, helping to guide us and giving us a way of measuring our progress. This cannot help but improve the testimony we give others by the example of our lives. It's application to our lives and our struggles/successes with the guidance laid down in The Sermon should be something we share with others as well.  We all need to be reminded that God's work in us began at our salvation and that we all have a long way to go.