What is salvation? To me salvation is forgiveness, redemption, and freedom. In most religions you are seeking it from God. In Kenya people regularly ask me if I am saved. I always answer yes.
I grew up in a community where people fervently went around trying to lead others to Salvation. You could hand them tracks, offer to pray with them, invite them to a church event geared for “Seekers,” or have them over to your house for a home-study. When you saw someone on the street or in the store, you would look at their lost souls sympathetically, “If only they knew the truth.” It was a goal, a badge, or gold star on the wall if you had the courage to share your faith with someone. If you could lead an unbeliever into salvation: another jewel in your crown.
I had been preached to, prayed with, read the Bible, & went to church every week, but I was first offered salvation at 18. The boss at my summer job offered me a track, but this time the pamphlet was filled with potential of a greater Salvation. The Salvation he was offering was deliverance from the guilt I had grown up in, redemption for my constricted ability to dream, and freedom from a culture that dictated how I must live, think, feel, & believe.
He offered me a plane ticket to anywhere in the world;
I got scared. I couldn’t make the leap of faith into a new life that I didn’t quite understand. I feared the guilt of making a wrong decision; having to look back and regret doing what all of my friends had advised against. How would my family react if I were saved? Would they be embarrassed? Would they be disappointed? What if I am in leadership one day, a politician, the President? How would I justify my counter-culture lifestyle?
I went on with life. I fell further & further into my unbelieving ways. I made decisions that would impact my life forever. I rebelled from the freedom I was offered & joined the Marine Corps. Instead of seeking redemption in truth, I found comfort in commitment to my wife, religion, & church. The worst was yet to come. I sought forgiveness for who I was.
It took a deployment to Iraq, destruction of my marriage, & an ensuing string of failures for me to finally hit bottom. It was then, when I no longer had a reputation to protect, and there, where I had no-where else to turn that I finally accepted the truth. That was the day I was saved. That was the moment when I found my salvation: I forgave myself for all of my failures, my bad decisions, and my weaknesses. I found redemption in being proud of who I was, not who my community or culture wanted me to be. I found freedom, the freedom to be who I am, the freedom to not only chase my dreams, but also the freedom to dream my Own dreams.
Now I believe so fervently, that I too am passionately sharing my salvation with others. I don’t have a track to hand out yet, but if I did… …It would be a plane ticket to anywhere in the world.
