“But since they have no root, they last only a short
time.” Mark 4:17-18
Miss Linda set aside the Bible and smiled at her classroom of
six-year-olds. “So that’s all there is to
is! Who loves Jesus? Who wants to go to
heaven some day? Raise your hand!” All fourteen hands went up. “That’s wonderful!” cried Miss Linda. “Now repeat this prayer and you are saved
forever!” Miss Linda went home satisfied that there were 14 new converts in
the kingdom of God. But were there? Were those
“converts” still following Jesus ten…twenty…thirty years later?
We sometimes reduce the plan of salvation to a 1-2-3 formula
that supposedly assures us of heaven while we resume our regular lives. But
Jesus never preached any such thing (Luke 14:25-33). While
some 5-year-olds truly are able to surrender their futures to Jesus, many people
assume that because they once prayed a prayer or got baptized they now belong
to God—despite the decades of hellacious living that followed.
Scripture does
not support this idea (1 John 3:6). When a seed is planted,
we can tell it is alive because it produces roots, stems, leaves, and eventually
fruit. If it doesn’t take root and produce, it is dead and useless. Likewise, when
the word of God takes root in our hearts, our lives begin to change. If His
word has not produced roots, growth, and fruit in a person’s life, then what
they considered a “decision for Christ” may also be dead and useless.
Are you
relying on an early “decision” for your salvation that has not resulted in a transformed
life?
.
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