“For we are his workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we may do them.”
Ephesians 2:10 NET
I woke up one morning with my right arm feeling numb and useless as it languidly hung to my shoulder. I had inadvertently slept on it and obstructed blood flow to it. The result — a useless arm. It took a few minutes of massaging the arm to correct the restricted blood flow and restore its vitality and usefulness.
This early morning experience gave me insight into an often overlooked aspect of the need for the Blood of Jesus and by extension Salvation beyond simply going to heaven. We are useless without the Blood. Literally. We can only begin our assignment on earth and become useful to God and man when we receive Salvation through the Blood of Jesus.
Salvation grants us much more than the right to spend eternity with the Father free from damnation. If Salvation was simply about going to heaven, the apostles and members of the early church should have also been carried away with Jesus at His ascension. What was the purpose of leaving behind these devoted members who had come to believe in the resurrected Saviour to endure the hardships of this dreary world?
Paul, at his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, asked two questions of Jesus. “Who are you, Lord?” and “Lord, what do you want me to do?”. The first question brings us to the saving knowledge of Christ and the second question reveals our assignment on earth. These two questions predate the early church. At Moses’ encounter with the burning bush, these two questions were also answered. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was revealed, and Moses’ role in the deliverance of the Israelites was also set forth. Jesus, at his baptism, also answered these two questions. God was revealed as Father, and He as Son. Then after His wilderness experience, He tells us of His assignment according to Isaiah 61. These two questions always go hand in hand. You cannot have one without the other. The answer to the first question qualifies you to ask the second question. Without the answer to the first question, the second question is inconsequential because there’s no Blood for you to fulfill your assignment. Just like my arm without blood flow, you also hang useless in the Body of Christ irrespective of your moral uprightness or the ‘good’ you supposedly do.
Paul was a religious zealot. A Pharisee par excellence. A scholar in the books of Moses. Till he encountered Jesus, he thought he was working for God by persecuting the church because he assumed they were teaching things contrary to the law. His divine encounter revealed his obvious blindness and the error of his ways. Outside of salvation, anything we claim to do for God is an exercise in futility, because we are literally blind to His ways and are without the Blood to empower us to function.
There are two questions that every man must eventually ask at one point in time in his or her lifetime on earth. “Who are you, Lord?” will bring you to the saving knowledge of God. “Lord, what do you want me to do?” will reveal your God ordained assignment. To never ask the first question is an absolute tragedy that has eternal consequences. You become like my arm hanging useless on earth.
On the other hand, if you ask the first question and leave it at that without pursuing the second question, you’re at risk of suffering the fate of those who called Him “Lord, Lord” but did not do the will of the Father. They indeed worked but it wasn’t God’s will. Our work here on earth is only relevant as long as it aligns to God’s will for us. If you’re Joseph of Arimathea, don’t bother with starting a church or doing crusades. Otherwise there’ll be no one with influence to bring down the body of the Messiah from the cross. If you’re Elisha, don’t join the school of prophets. Faithfully pour water on Elijah’s hands. That’s the way to the double portion. If you’re Anna the prophetess, remain in the temple and pray down the Saviour.
The purpose of Salvation goes beyond having our names written in the Book of Life in heaven. It also helps us in finding our divine assignment and becoming useful to God and His kingdom here on earth. Salvation not only brings an end to riotous living but also begins a righteous assignment.
JeruWrites 
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