Posted on Sunday, March 7, 2010
Have you ever thought about how powerful the word “almost” is? It is defined as “very nearly but not exactly”. “Almost” is a positive thing if it’s describing an averted disaster, as in “We almost hit the car in front of us, but we missed it by just a few inches”…or, “She almost fell off the cliff but her friend caught her.” It’s in those situations that we are thankful for that wonderful word!
But “almost” can also describe situations that leave us unfulfilled; actions that did not come through as we had hoped. Consider: “I almost got married.” “I almost passed my course.” “I almost got the job.” In those cases, “almost” just isn’t good enough.
Let’s consider how that word can refer to our spiritual life. Do any of us want to almost become Christians? Do we look forward to almost getting to heaven? Of course not! We want to be whole hearted Christians and we want to be sure of going to heaven some day. With that in mind, let’s make sure we don’t almost do our best spiritually. We certainly don’t want to be making these statements:
¨ I almost read my Bible today
¨ I almost came to church
¨ I almost shared my faith
¨ I almost prayed
¨ I almost gave sacrificially
¨ I almost helped the poor…
You get the idea. Looking at Jesus, we see our savior committed to His purpose, and committed to us. Can you imagine what our lives would be like if Jesus “almost” went to the cross? What if He was “almost” raised from the dead? No, our salvation is based on the fact that Jesus didn’t almost save us, but saves us completely. “Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them.” (Hebrews 7:25)
With Jesus, the word “almost” is exchanged for the word “always”! He always loves us and is always interceding for us. His words are always true. He will always be there for you and me. That’s much better than “almost”, isn’t it?
With much love always from,
Randy and Kay
