A few years ago a friend tattooed an anchor on her arm. When asked what it meant, she said – strength.
Jesus is the anchor of our souls; “we have this hope firm and secure,”(Hebrews 6). I trust in that strength, that he grabs hold of us even when we feel out of his reach – for his arm is strong, and he is never letting go.
But there was a time I’d see the verses in the photo above on the wall behind our church alter every Sunday:
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (from the Book of John)
and the words would seem so condemning and judgmental. How could people of the twenty-first century miss their exclusive claim? Where was the love, where was the mercy? During one service I got so irritated over the language that when I got home that afternoon, I actually got out my Bible for the first time in years and read the entire Book of John. There is something to be said for getting the whole story.
I read it start to finish without getting up. And as I read, the words seemed to soften. They no longer felt condemning but full of love. There was only a pleading in the words – asking me to believe. Showing me how I was forgiven. Offering a peace in the love only Jesus can give.
Jesus, you are the son of God. You died for each of us. You take all the baggage we have been dragging around and will never let us have it back no matter how hard it tries to pull us back down. Instead, you make us light and lifted in your resurrection promise- that we will be with you forever, that you will never let us go. And Lord, thank you for the verse left off that wall that appears in scripture between the two verses they used:
“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
Jesus, you are the Anchor of our Souls.
