The Psychology of Salvation, Part 1: Jesus Is So Different

This painting is available from Liz Lemon Swindle

Jesus is so different in how He sets us up to understand salvation. He takes our sins upon himself which helps make our inevitable anxieties manageable. Through the sanctuary service of old He prepares us to understand the gap between what we are and what He wills us to become. In this, He may be the only One who presents a truly God-focused religion.

All other religions, despite their belief in God or gods, have a fundamental orientation towards what we must accomplish to be saved; what we must do to earn our salvation in some way. That introduces a self-focus, really, and “self” is immediately sensible to the human psyche: “If it is to be, it is up to me.” At first, it feels liberating, because “now the steering wheel is in my own hands.” We learn the system, and set about to do the things that will supposedly win God’s favor and cause Him to bless our efforts. But that “freedom” of self-direction also puts a crushing weight on the shoulders of we who keep failing. “Did I not really want this enough? Am I defective beyond help? Does God even care about my struggles? What more can I do?” Failure wrenches a lonely and desperate cry from the one who doesn’t understand Jesus’ lavish offer.

With Jesus, we earn nothing. Salvation is provided. In the shadow of that promise we are free to live joyfully as we still seek improvement. But improvement is no longer for salvation. It is for delight; delight to people who love solving problems, and delight to God who loves to see His children grow. Our life becomes a playground on which we can invent stuff, a laboratory in which we can test things. Yes, we can see the gap between where we are and where we wish to be. And we can feel the enormity of that gap, but without despair. Jesus has already bridged the gap on our behalf. So we are free to strive on our end to chip away at our little “home improvements” knowing that the “extreme makeover” will be accomplished by Him and in His time.

So how does the ancient sanctuary service show that this is indeed the way Jesus works? Ah, out of time. That will come next week.