QUESTION No. 9 - SUNDAY JUNE 14, 2026
Q. Why does God want my salvation?
My initial concept of salvation was… “Just give me the list of to-do’s and let me get to work.”
Minus the absurdly high level of stress one might encounter at the final stage of one’s own salvation, I considered it much like attending a conference.
Work would need to be undertaken – register to attend, pay the fees, travel to the location, get a hotel, rent a car, dress appropriately, show up on time - and upon arrival, receive my badge of entry.
CONFERENCE HOST: “Let’s see…Jerome Michael McLaughlin. Yep. We have your name right here. You’re all set and fully paid up. Welcome.”
Do some things, check some boxes, and I’m in.
Saved.
Wrong.
In many ancient cultures, ”the gods” created humans for their own convenience. Humans lived to serve and satisfy their every need. But, If you actually wanted something from them, you had to engage in rituals of purity, surrender precious gifts, and perhaps even sacrifice one of your own.
In some sense, Western Christianity still thinks much the same way. To be saved I must perform according to a list of God’s demands. For in the end, it’s my salvation and my duty, all based on my relationship with God.
We ask ourselves - what must I do to please God?
A WORD ON THE WORD: The Hebrew word for “save” is YASHA (pronounced yah-SHAH). It means to be wide, open, or free. More precisely, to be pulled out of a tight space into a place with room to breathe. It’s God's desire that we not be hemmed in — that we exist in freedom and spaciousness. Scholars claim Yeshua (the biblical name of Jesus) is a contraction of YHWH (Yahweh) and YASHA to form Yehoshua which means “the bearer of the name is the act of salvation embodied”.
The originating desire for salvation is not ours. It’s God’s. He wants us to be saved. God is on Team Humanity.
And it’s not about who gets in. God, as the divine sovereign, is not sitting at the golden gates processing salvation requests. Our salvation is a reflection of who God is.
God is gracious and merciful and overflowing with everlovingkindness. He designed us from the beginning to be with Him now and for eternity.
“Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”
- Matthew 25:34
The truth is, God is grieved. He suffers from our loss. We have been stolen and enslaved by sin, death, and disordered love. Estranged by the destroyer of all that is good – Satan and the forces aligned against creation. And God knows, as finite beings we are unable to battle such powerful forces of evil alone.
Scripture describes God at war on our behalf. He simply refuses to let the enemy hold what rightfully belongs to Him.
"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."
– Ephesians 6:12
Salvation is not us fighting against creation or attempting to escape from creation, but God’s promise of the wholesale restoration of creation – a limitless space to live and breathe freely. And, not somewhere way up there, but right here on earth.
God sent His own Son – Yeshua - to enter this earthly domain of darkness to renew creation, not destroy it. He alone establishes our salvation. Through His death, life. Eternal life.
“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
— Luke 19:10
And what is our role in the fight?
We are simply asked to open our ears to the words of the Savior. Orient ourselves toward the light. Embrace the good. Speak the truth. And live in love.
"And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them.”
- Revelation 21:3
BoBQ Vol. 6 pg. 59-60