Which of the following are similar to the ways you've served Christ in your family? [check all that apply]
• Taught your kids to see God's glory in nature
• Washed the dishes without being asked
• Played a board game with your kids
• Encouraged your wife to finish her master's degree
• Attended a child's open house at school
• Worked fewer hours to be with your family
• Set an example of a godly prayer life for your children
• Held a crying child
• Swung on the tire swing with your daughter
• Told your wife why you're still in love with her
• Told your son he's got what it takes
• Coached soccer
• Let you child correct you now and then
• Fixed the vacuum cleaner
• Taught your sons to ride a bike
• Listened patiently to a complaint of your wife
• Taped your child's artwork to your office wall
• Admitted to your kids that you were wrong
• Told your children how Christ entered your life
• Cleaned up vomit
• Taught your children to love books
• Been romantic without expecting sex
• Told your daughter she's smart/beautiful
• Set standards for your kids and stuck to them
• Dealt graciously with a busybody neighbor
• Peeled carrots
• Watched movies together
Pushing or Pulled? Theme of the Week: What We're Saved From Tuesday, May 4, 2004
1 of 1
ADVERTISEMENT
Men of IntegrityMay/June 2004Pushing or Pulled?Theme of the Week: What We're Saved FromTuesday, May 473
Key Bible Verse: So that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life (Titus 3:7, NIV). Bonus Reading:Romans 5:6–11, 20–21
As a freshman, I attended a study group in a favorite professor's home. The subject was the path to salvation. Each was to share his view of the journey toward God.
I'd grown up in a home centered on going to church, serving in various ministries, and believing in the justice of God. If I worked hard and stayed fairly distant from sin, I believed, my salvation was assured. But I was frequently discouraged because I lacked the necessary self-control.
So I offered my view that God sat on a mountain, and that our task was to make our way to the top. The journey was difficult, I said, because every time we sin we fall back down the mountain. When that happens, I concluded, we must pick ourselves up, retrace our lost steps, and continue the climb.
My professor asked me to consider a different view: If I must put God on a mountain, I should understand that God has placed a rope of grace around me to pull me toward Him. That alteration to the metaphor brought immediate change to my life. I realized that my salvation was a gift, providing all the motivation I needed to serve a loving God. Discouragement gave way to joy. Defeat turned to victory.
—Michael Westerfield in College Faith
My Response: How do I view the path to salvation? Do I need to alter that view?
Thought to Apply: Repentance is the process by which we see ourselves as we really are: sinful, needy, dependent people.
If you decide you want to keep Men of Integrity coming, honor your invoice for just $19.95 and receive five more issues, a full year in all. If not, simply write "cancel" across the invoice and return it. The trial issue is yours to keep, regardless.
1 of 1
