How Big Is My Salvation?

As Americans, we love our privacy and individualism. We can live next door to someone for years and never interact or get to know them, and this is culturally acceptable. The right to privacy is a foundation of our constitution and intertwined with our history as settlers sought religious freedom here. There are some strengths this value brings to our nation and culture, but I believe some weaknesses as well.

As a believer in Christ and an American, I often speak of my salvation in Christ as a very personal (or more accurately “private”) affair. Our current culture even gets offended if we do not keep our faith private enough. But something in Scripture seems to keep coming to the surface for me. Romans 8:18-25 speaks of how all of creation longs for the “revealing of the sons of God,” waiting for its freedom from bondage to corruption and “obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” Scripture in multiple places affirms that just as creation was harmed by the fall of humanity into sin, creation will be healed by our salvation in Christ. He will make all things new. 

So, is my salvation just about me? Is my salvation some private matter that has no impact outside of my own heart and mind? I believe we may need a bigger view of salvation. Maybe it reaches further than we ever imagined. How would this change our understanding of the impact of our own discipleship as well as making disciples elsewhere? How does your salvation impact your family, church, community, the world and the universe?

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