If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Romans 10:9
When I read this verse, a strange thing happened. I could only think of when the clergy presents the Gospel and I make the sign of the cross on my forehead, on my lips and over my heart. I wasn’t getting anything else from the verse other than that image. The verse is to the point, re-reading only served to frustrate me.
Then I took out the Bible that Eileen (House) gave us during Confirmation class years ago. It is a contemporary English version and things finally started to click. It says," So you will be saved, if you honestly say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and if you believe with all your heart that God raised him from death.’” Not so very different in wording, but it started to untangle for me.
Maybe, just maybe, my first image wasn’t so far off. We are to take the Word placed in our minds, to speak them with our lips, and believe them in our hearts. We are called to share the words that Jesus is Lord, who was raised from the dead to save us with full belief and conviction. We are commissioned to do so with everyone, not just the folks at church or in our social circle. That means often times going outside our comfort zone to proclaim the Lord’s word.
As a child I openly spoke of Jesus, but as I grew older, was afraid of offending others. Now I am back to being childlike in proclaiming Jesus. Thanks be to God!
Sharon McGlaughlin
