Many wants, only one true need
Published 5:25 pm Friday, April 3, 2015
It is interesting how we can want some things so badly that we begin to justify them as needs. I like tools a lot, but in reality there are not a lot of them that I really need; just a few basic ones for small jobs would be adequate. (Please do not inform my wife of this humble confession!) However, when I venture into hardware and home improvement stores I am much like a kid in a candy store! The temptation there is so intense that I have to admit that I have purchased some hand tools in the past that have yet to be used.
I recall a time that I really wanted a particular kind of drill. I put a lot of time into looking at various makes and styles, and finally purchased one. That was two years or so ago and I doubt that I have drilled a dozen holes with it, and the few times I have used it it was mostly just to try it out. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to determine if that was a bona fide need or merely a superficial want.
There is a need, however, that we all have: we need Christ as our Savior. He is not an option, He is a necessity to our eternal spiritual well being. Even those who believe that they are just fine without Him desperately need to accept what He achieved for us as He died on the cross for our sins and rose to life again on the third day.
The Bible gives us many reasons why we need Christ. I invite you to consider a couple of them.
We need Christ as our Savior because of the holiness of God and the sinfulness of humankind. God had a perfect relationship with the first man and woman that He created, but that was interrupted by sin. Because of His holy and righteous nature and the sin-corrupted nature of humankind, sin had to be properly dealt with before that relationship between God and man could be restored.
Only Christ could provide that means. As our Savior, He provides the only way for us to experience a personal relationship with God. Without Him as Savior we remain dead and hopeless in sin, but through Him we have the promise of everlasting life. Romans 6:23 reminds us: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (New International Version).
We also need Christ as our Savior because all other means that humankind has used to attempt to gain God’s favor have failed. Throughout history, men and women have tried to earn God’s favor by doing good works. They have tried to access Him through empty religious routine and ritual. These all failed and will continue to fail.
Only faith in Christ will bring us into God’s favor and forgiveness. The Bible records that as Peter and John were called on the carpet for their faith in Christ, Peter courageously and accurately expressed to the doubting religious leaders of his day that “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). And to Whom was Peter referring as the only Savior? Jesus Christ.
Among the things that we focus on during this Easter season, let us include time to reflect on the many reasons that we need Christ as our Savior. Then personally take advantage of His provision; believe upon Him and allow Him to be the Savior of your soul.