Instant Results

Devotion for the Week...

There are a lot of things in life that take a lot of time and effort before we see results. Losing weight, learning an instrument, getting out of debt or saving for retirement are just a few examples. Last summer I was having trouble with my IT band while running. Though the pain would flare up in either my knee or my hip, the solution was to strengthen my glute muscles. Simple enough. Unfortunately, though, it would take a few weeks of doing the exercises consistently before I would notice any difference during my runs. I wanted to be able to do the exercises two or three times and have the problem go away completely, but that's not how it works.

Things that take a lot of time and effort before we see results are really hard to stick with, aren't they? If we're putting in the work, we want instant results. We definitely don't want to have to keep working and feeling like we're getting nowhere.

There is one action a person can take, though, that provides instant results. Belief in Jesus instantly moves a person from unrighteous to righteous. "For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins" (Colossians 1:13). This transfer occurs at the very moment we accept Jesus. There's no period of working for our salvation, no trial period to see if we're going to 'work out.' There are also no tiers to work our way up, starting out with the least possible forgiveness and gradually earning more.

It's a simple all or nothing transformation. If you believe in Jesus, then you instantly have full forgiveness of all of your sins. It's rather amazing, isn't it?

Even more amazing is that you don't actually have to do the work for the transformation, because Jesus did it all. "God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it" (Ephesians 2:8, 9). All we have to do is believe. "If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9).

Have you received this instant transformation?