the rest of faith

I was in a discussion recently with some folks who were wondering about the eternal destiny of people from other religions: the Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, etc.  They had a hard time, I think, with the idea that Jesus could be the only pathway to salvation.  It is kind of staggering to consider the millions, perhaps billions, of people who don't know about Jesus, let only come to faith in Him.  Of course I have strong convictions about Jesus when He said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."  But I was thinking about the benefits we have, well before we go to Heaven, from knowing Him.  Of course we have the very real companionship of the Holy Spirit, the illumination of God's Word in the Bible, the encouragement and fellowship of other believers and the access through prayer to a God who hears and answers.  One other thought that struck me is that when we enter into a faith/trust relationship with the Lord we can really rest.  I think much of our activity in this life is based on restlessness, unease, uncertainty and lack of clarity about who we are.  When we surrender self to Jesus and trust Him for our lives that all drops away.  We know our purpose...we rest in His undergirding arms....and our actions are no longer based in uncertainty but are all about reflecting and carrying that assurance to others.

 

Hebrews 4: ⁹There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; ¹⁰for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. ¹¹Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.

 

blessings,

Rob Smith