Acts 16: 28 - 30 But Paul shouted, "Don't harm yourself! We are all here." The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
What is the trigger in a conversion? This question is working through me because I really want to know. What causes a person to rush in and say "What must I do to be saved?" The trigger for the jailer seems to be the fact that Paul and Silas were still sitting there. The songs in the night, the testimony, the grace under pressure - they were all important - but they didn't cause him to fall on his knees. As a matter of fact, when you read the story, the jailer was asleep when the earthquake hit. The songs didn't cause him to be saved, they caused him to fall asleep! They were certainly part of the process - but something else triggered the conversion.
It was the love that Paul and Silas showed him - their willingness to give up their own path to freedom to save his life - that was what caused him to fall on his knees and be saved.
Our Christ-like love for others, going the extra mile, giving them our cloak, loving them when they hate us, praying for them when they persecute us, sitting with them when they are trying to enslave us - that is one of the most important things that will cause a person to move towards Christ.
Paul and Silas put a Roman jailer's life before their own personal freedom. That is one of the ultimate examples of truly understanding what really matters in this life. Are we willing to give up some of our freedoms so that a 'jailer' will come to Christ? Or are your 'rights' so important to you that you'll sacrifice the jailer's life so that you can continue in your freedom.
Salvation is nothing without the forgiveness of sins. But it is also so much more than that.
No comments:
Post a Comment