I've been pondering a question lately: What is salvation? In modern atheistic education, salvation is often equated with being healed from illness and merely clinging to life. Is this true salvation? In the Bible, Jesus healed many sick people. What did Jesus value in these patients? He valued that they gave all glory and praise to God and were willing to proclaim God's power and glory. What is a truly saved person? A truly saved person is one who knows the one true Triune God, the Creator of the universe! Many people are extremely ill, even unable to get out of bed. For them, salvation isn't about being healed; what they desire is salvation itself! Knowing where they will go after death is the most important thing! So, whenever I visit those terminally ill, those very seriously ill patients, what they want isn't healing. Salvation in their hearts is the hope of life after death, the hope of eternal life. They know where they will go! We know that the wealthier people are, the more afraid they are of death. They use money to prolong life, and are willing to pay any price to do so. Why do so many people feel that leaving this world is a relief, a blessing? For Christians, "death" is simply a change in lifestyle! In many Christian funerals, we see a joy in the face of death, something many other religions cannot comprehend. Because Christianity tells us in the Bible that death is not a terrible thing, but rather a release from the toil of this world. Indeed, this world has too much toil, too many shackles binding us, preventing us from truly enjoying the Creator's creation, preventing us from truly enjoying each day. We work 996 every day, working incredibly hard, like bound slaves, endlessly toiling. This is why many Christians' salvation lies in the hope of eternal life! Because we know that when our physical body departs, our soul will go to a better place.
(Acts 7:59) And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.(60) And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.~~In this verse, we see that Stephen, a disciple of Jesus, was stoned to death, but he still smiled and said, “Lord, do not hold this sin to their charge!” What does this represent? 1. Stephen was not afraid of death at all. 2. Stephen did not care about physical pain. 3. Stephen valued entering the Kingdom of Heaven more than remaining in the world. We need to consider this: Why were Jesus' disciples no longer afraid of martyrdom after his resurrection? We know that when Jesus went to the cross, all the disciples scattered, unwilling to have anything to do with him. But after Jesus' resurrection, the disciples were willing to be martyred, and even Saul, who had persecuted Christians, became Paul, a martyr for Jesus. Why? Modern people don't believe in Jesus' resurrection! I want to clearly tell everyone: Only Jesus' true resurrection and appearance to his disciples at that time is the reasonable explanation for why Jesus' disciples were willing to be martyred! If Jesus hadn't risen from the dead, Christians would have scattered long ago! The Bible wouldn't exist!
Previously, I thought that "being healed from illness" was the only way to be saved! Today, I suddenly thought of several brothers and sisters I visited at their deathbeds. What they really wanted wasn't to be healed from illness; what they wanted was to leave this world willingly. Many brothers and sisters, at their deathbeds, simply hoped that their souls would be taken by Jesus, and then they would be content for life. Indeed, I remember a few years ago, before my brother passed away, while he was in the hospital, I dreamt of him. He told me he didn't want to stay in this world anymore; he didn't want to be here! He said he was leaving this world! I asked, "Why did you say this world is bad?" He said, "This world doesn't belong to me, and I don't belong to this world." All he told me was, "Take good care of my mother!" Now I finally understand: because he truly wasn't respected or treated well in this world. Many people in this world are slaves to money, spending their lives striving to make money. We know that the rich are the powerful in this world! They can use money to control everything; everything can be controlled by money, including the law, politics, and even human life. So this world is actually what we call Mammon's world, or the devil's world! When a Christian departs this world, they are freed from the burdens of this world, freed from the shackles it has placed upon us, and we are no longer subject to Mammon's dominion. So sometimes healing isn't just physical healing, but sometimes it's a liberation of the body—the body is no longer bound by this world, allowing the soul to go to a better place! This is something many non-Christians or atheists cannot understand.
I have never been able to understand those who will stop at nothing for money, sacrificing their health, family, morality, and conscience. My question is: Is it worth it? Birth, aging, sickness, and death are inevitable processes for everyone, but the end of this life is not death. The end of this life leads to a more beautiful place: The hope of eternal life! However, many people choose eternal death! Why do they choose "eternal death"? Because they do not believe in the hope of eternal life, so they choose to die for evil! Let us consider: Is eternal death for evil, entering the unquenchable lake of fire, our final destination, what you, we want?
