salvation

“Although the word “salvation” has come to mean “eternal life” in most religious circles. It is helpful to return to the word’s Latin root salvus, meaning “whole”, “sound”, “healed”, “safe”, “well”, or “unharmed”, as a way to understand the spirituality of salvation. Salvation and spirituality and self are related – spirituality connects to us to the whole, allows us a glimpse into our place within God and God’s world, giving a new sense of health and well-being in our situations and identities. The idea of salvation need not be rejected; rather it needs to be brought back to a truer rendering of its root meaning. We need to come to an authentic sense of personhood, stitching together what was unraveled into a new whole. From a biblical perspective, that involves connecting to human well-being by asking “Who am I?” in relation to “I AM”. And that might be our salvation.”

Diana Butler Bass, Christianity After Religion

Salvation, many times, gets boiled down to a few words we say in response to a message or an invitation from a pastor. But, I love this definition; that salvation is more than a moment in time that decides our eternal fate but it is a process in the here and now of ‘becoming’….becoming more whole, more sound, more healed, more safe, more well.

Jesus did not come only to offer you an eternity with him – he came to offer you a rich and textured life, full of joy, pain, beauty, difficulty, laughter and tears. If you remember to ask, “Who am I, in this moment, in relation to I AM?”, you will begin to see that He is ever present in each and every situation, and that his desire is to weave salvation into each and every moment.

Grace and peace,
Deb
PS - I would highly recommend this book.