The Ingredients of Salvation

Unfailing love and truth have met together. Righteousness and peace have kissed!

Psalm 85:10

Usually, when Christians talk about salvation, we point to being saved from sin and death through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Salvation has to do with the promise of life after death. “Are you saved, brother?” means, “Have you believed in Jesus so that you can go to heaven when you die?”

Part of the good news of God’s salvation does indeed have to do with our life beyond the grave. But that’s only part of what salvation entails. There is still more! We see this in Psalm 85. Verse 9 affirms, “Surely [God’s] salvation is near to those who fear him.” Then verse 10 spells out some of what that salvation includes: “Unfailing love and truth have met together. Righteousness and peace have kissed!” When we are saved by God’s grace, his unfailing love embraces us forever. His truth fills our minds and transforms our hearts. Relationships are healed, and we live in peace with God and people. This peace is much more than simply the absence of conflict. Rather, it is life as God meant it to be, in which all people flourish in fellowship with God, people, and the earth.

When we put our faith in Jesus Christ, we not only receive reassurance about our eternal destiny. We also begin to experience the fullness of God’s salvation in this life. The Lord blesses us with his love and truth, with righteousness and peace. Moreover, we become agents of God in this world: sharing his love with others, speaking his truth, forming right relationships, and being peacemakers in all we do. The ingredients of salvation will not be fully mixed and baked until Christ comes again. But, in the meanwhile, we delight in those good gifts and are privileged to give them away to others. This, indeed, is part of our high calling!

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: How have you experienced God’s salvation through Jesus Christ? How has your life been touched by God’s love, truth, righteousness, and peace? How might these ingredients of salvation make a difference in your life today?

PRAYER: How I thank you, dear Lord, for the gift of your salvation. Thank you for bearing my sin on the cross so that I might have eternal life, the life of the age to come.

Yet how wonderful that I don’t have to just sit around and wait to experience your salvation, Lord. Thank you for allowing me to begin to taste the ingredients of salvation today.

Thank you for your unfailing love that never lets me go. May I share your love with others today.

Thank you for your truth that makes sense of this life and helps me to live fruitfully. May I speak and live your truth today.

Thank you for the righteousness that enables me to have healthy relationships with people. May I live rightly with all whom I encounter today.

Thank you for your peace that touches every part of life, from the depth of my heart to the breadth of nations. May I enjoy and extend your peace today.

All praise be to you, God of my salvation, Savior of the world! Amen.