Taxi Driver on Being Saved

I hope that you did find wisdom and even a little entertainment from my previous entry about that taxi driver’s lack or absence of faith. I’m glad that some of you who stumbled upon that previous post were reminded of how infinitely necessary for us to increase the level of our faith, even motivated to share God’s message of love to others who especially need it, called back from our present preoccupation to reflect on how we are living our lives, and even inspired to write like yours truly haha. Ok, I’m just playing. But seriously now, not only did that taxi driver pronounce his faith in those earthly things that he can only see particularly in those establishments with flickering lights which anyone can find along Quezon Ave. or the streets of Cubao. But he also emphatically and subtly denied mankind’s need of a Savior or salvation!

He said, “Are we being drowned that we all have to be saved?! Why do we need a Savior?”

Here’s an image why:

That guy in the image above badly needed a repair! You might not even have the faintest idea of how I’d terribly lived my life way before I personally encountered God. Well, the image above basically tells you how I’d lived for myself and surrendered myself to earthly things like alcohol. I was a slave to it. You might not have discerned my troubled life at first but I’m telling you now that my heavenly/Derek Ramsey looks could effectively deceive you and I can be the most unforgettable person you’ve ever met whom you might love to say these words in my heavenly face, “You are actually the LEAST person I’d expected who would do such a shameful thing.” I admit, I messed up my life in ways you can hardly imagine. I even brought some people with me to that wonderful or pleasurable mess I created or more appropriately to a trap which Satan actually designed for you and me. The enemy has been a great entertainer, even greater than Michael Jackson! And that taxi driver even had the moral fiber to implicitly say that we DON’T need a Savior. I’m telling you, taxi driver, that I wasn’t blessed in almost every aspect while submitting myself wholeheartedly almost on a daily basis to the temporary and intoxicating bliss which an alcohol provides. Instead, my life was ruined. My work, in particular, was ruined. In fact, I personally encountered God when I was still lightly suspended from work due to habitual tardiness. Before my encounter with Him, I was full of angst and there was even a slight bitterness in my heart particularly towards those people who hurt me. But since that spiritual revival, I’ve come to know the value of forgiveness, eventually surrendered my heavy baggage to Him, and finally come to know my personal Savior. I began to realize in those special moments of growing with the knowledge of Him that no matter how I messed my precious life up, I could still be forgiven, saved, and loved by our Sovereign God. Even the sinful singer, R. Kelly, put it melodically this way in his popular song, I Believe I Can Fly: “And now I know the meaning of true love. I’m leaning on the Everlasting Arms.” I needed to be saved during those times when I could hardly find the meaning of life. Jesus found it for me and He’s my sole comforter now.

DOPE!! Extreme unbelievers might exclaim that.

Atheists claim that religion is the opium for the masses/people. Opium, as we know it, is a drug. Karl Marx whom I used to adore plainly because of his economic philosophy used that phrase. Marx’s contention is that religion, like opium, only provides people artificial or illusory happiness. This is a fairly common argument used by those people who are extremely against any religion which, according to them, is simply an illusory/unreal happiness or a comforting teddy bear in which people must free themselves from in order to build a better or even perfect society. Although there are many religions in this world and to some extent, religion has clearly divided us all, religion (no matter what it is) has basically been our natural response to the truth that an invincible God exists and the heightened awareness that we need to be saved in stark contrast, once again, to the taxi driver’s view. We are in need of repair, very badly…

We indeed need to be saved. If we DON’T, how would one explain this particular event in human history: Just days before the “Southern Decadence,” an annual homosexual celebration in New Orleans wherein drunk homosexuals perform sexual act in public that attracts thousands of people, hurricane Katrina destroyed the city leaving many people utterly hopeless!? Pure coincidence? I believe NOT (Nahum 1:3). This is an annual celebration of SIN which they were so proud to proclaim! Unbelievable! We need to be saved, if we only allow Jesus to enter our hearts and minds. Again, Jesus is our sole comforter.

I already shared quite lengthily in my previous entry on how to get to heaven. It was quite clear in that post that we have already been SAVED from eternal damnation or simply hell for God loves us so much that He gave us His Son, Jesus, who already claimed victory over sin and death. Salvation, simply put, is freely available for all of us through genuine faith in Christ Jesus.

Sadly, religion has been divisive. History has countless accounts on how lives were put to an abrupt end because of religion. Just recently, a 32-year-old Norweigan Anders Behring Breivik killed at least 92 people in his country, Norway, and professed afterwards that his act was atrocious yet necessary. He’s an extremely radical Christian who wants a crusade against the spread of Islam. A true Christian does not kill people! This Norweigan guy is simply a madman who loves a shooting spree. It’s really saddening and puzzling to witness the division which world religions have created. Overall, major religions disagree on the part of salvation. Islam has its Five Pillars. This is collectively some sort of an instruction manual or a step-by-step guide in order to attain salvation. Even those who believe in Jesus being truly God have come into a great disagreement both in doctrine and structure throughout history since the Protestant Reformation. I shared the gospel to my friends and a couple of them asked me the difference between a Catholic and a Christian. Honestly speaking, I’m beginning to grow tired of this question haha. Certainly, there are glaring differences especially on the critical part of attaining salvation between a Catholic and a Christian. But can’t we find a common ground just for the meantime? What if we dismiss the whole idea of religion that separates us and replace it altogether with the word “relationship?” In this way, I believe we can be united. But still, we must be cautious of false religions which could only provide us false security (1 John 4:1). Jesus is truly God incarnate and not just a prophet nor an enlightened person.

Simply put, we can grow with the knowledge of God by actually studying and meditating on His words. The bible is God’s love letter to us. This love letter is so difficult to read. It’s so cryptic YET we must be thankful because although God is infinitely indescribable, He still wants us to understand His ways and know Him. Again, according to God’s love letter, we’ve been saved already. Our sins were already paid IN FULL by Jesus when He was crucified on the cross. If we sincerely want a genuine relationship with Him that would last eternally, we must be willing to live our lives according to His will and free ourselves from the bondage of sin that has overwhelmed mankind from the very beginning. I believe that both Catholics and Born Again Christians agree on our need to be saved through a radical reorientation of our lives with Christ Jesus at the center. If the previous statement has bled your nose, it is simply a change or conversion of heart. I personally encountered Jesus with a great aid from an evangelical or a pastor. It was His plan (John 1:48). Yet in Pope Benedict XVI’s new encyclical letter, Spe Salvi, I’ve just encountered Him as well:

Life in its true sense is not something we have exclusively in or from ourselves, it is a relationship. And life in its totality is a relationship with him who is the source of life. If we are in relation with him who does not die, who is life itself and love itself, then we are in life. Then we live… Our relationship with God is established through communion with Jesus — we cannot achieve it alone or from our own resources alone.

It’s not about your religion as long as you have faith in Christ Jesus. It’s not about you being a devout Catholic or a holy Evangelical, brother. It’s about your relationship with Him that will mature in time, save you and give you the true meaning of life. And finally, your faith or relationship with Him must altogether be genuine (James 2:14-26).