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For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith\u2014and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God\u2014not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

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So: what does it mean to be saved?\xa0 I mean, we say it all the time, but what does it mean?\xa0 If we\u2019re going to be thankful for our salvation in Christ, this seems like an important question.

So what does it mean to be saved? \xa0Well: our first inclination in answering this question usually involves a pretty heady answer.\xa0 We\u2019ll offer some doctrine on the theory of the atonement, attempting to dot all the right \u201ci\u2019s\u201d and cross all the right \u201ct\u2019s\u201d to ensure that our answer comes down clearly as \u201ctruth.\u201d\xa0 So we\u2019ll say Jesus died for our sins; paid the penalty for our sins for us, took the wrath of God upon himself\u2014something like that.\xa0

But these answers are more about the mechanics of how God saved us.\xa0 How God got us from being sinful people to saved people.\xa0 And it must be noted that the church has spoke in terms of \u201ctheories\u201d of the atonement, because while we know and believe that it happened\u2014that Jesus died for us\u2014we remain somewhat unsure of what all exactly did happen to make us right and well with God when Jesus died, was buried, rose, and ascended.\xa0 So, we have theories: different pictures that the Bible offers to help us understand it, but not necessarily a clear winner that topples all the rest.\xa0 \xa0\xa0

Ok, but that aside: even having laid down a good, faithful, and truthful answer about the doctrine of salvation\u2014we still would not have really answered the question posed at the beginning, \u201cwhat does it mean to be saved?\u201d\xa0

Because a question like that is actually quite a bit more subjective.\xa0 It\u2019s a question about where God\u2019s salvation in Christ meets us: real human people with real human problems and real particular struggles and sins.

After having been born and raised as a Christian all my life, it was finally in seminary that I discovered the answer to this question in my life\u2014and not because of the education I was getting in theology.\xa0

I had spent much time through my younger years trying to \u201csave myself\u201d from the threat of divorce that had broken apart a number of marriages in my family.\xa0 So I attempted to force dating relationships to work that really didn\u2019t work, and burned myself out in the process.\xa0 I realized in reflection that what I had really been seeking, was salvation.\xa0 Not from some abstract concept of Sin: but from a very particular historical manifestation of Sin in my family history that I feared would swallow me up too\u2014divorce.\xa0 And I had been seeking this salvation by my own works.\xa0 I was single-handedly attempting to redeem my own sin-broken family history.\xa0

But here\u2019s the thing: I\u2019m not the saviour.\xa0 And that work is just too big for me.\xa0 It burned me out.\xa0 But then I remembered: I already have a Savior who saves and redeems from all our Sin and sin-broken realities, including broken-families like mine.\xa0 All at once, the Word was made flesh and moved into my life.\xa0 All of a sudden it clicked, and I knew what Salvation meant to me.\xa0 A huge weight was lifted and joy and thanksgiving spilled right out of me.

So, if you\u2019re going to be thankful for your salvation in Christ, this is an important question: what does it mean in your life to be saved by Jesus?

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