This morning I read a post by John Piper entitled The Agonizing Problem of the Assurance of Salvation.  It was the most insightful commentary that I have read on the subject ever. It deals with the heart of the question of salvation.  Simply, am I truly saved and not self-deceiving myself or just believing in God to assuage my fears of hell. I mean how do we come to terms with scripture such as in Matthew 7:21-23 where it says that many will not enter the kingdom even though they proclaim to have not only believed but even prophesied in the Lord's name? There is  a test of three questions that can help you determine whether salvation has come to you or not.

1. Do you believe that the fact that Christ died on the cross for our sins is something truly glorious and wonderful? This can be realized when the gospel is preached.

2. Is it because you think that His dying on the cross for our sins is wonderful that you accept Him as your Savior or is it because you are merely trying to avoid the bad consequences of not believing in Him?
In other words, are you resting in the light in the gospel of the glory of Christ? To accomplish this, we should always pray that God enlighten our eyes.

3. Do we love each other? In John, it says that we can know that we have passed from death to light if we love one another.

Ultimately, salvation is a gift from God.  I agree with Pastor Piper when he closes by commanding us to pray that it (this precious gift of salvation) may abound among us.

My desire is to be like a Seraphina- the Hebrew word for an angel who is known to be the most powerful servant of God.

What is it to be a servant/follower of Christ?  This is the question that consumes me.  Many evangelists focus on the way to salvation because for many the first step is the hardest.  I accepted Christ when I was very young.  What I have discovered along the way is that being a Christian is much more difficult than believing some precepts.  Yes, it is required, but the exploring and fleshing out of the Christian life is the opening of a Pandora's Box that can be overwhelming. 

To reach a destination, we need to know where we are going.  God created us for a purpose- to serve Him.  As we obey Him and serve Him, He transforms us into a likeness of Christ.  In the Bible, there are many verses that exemplify the kind of people God wants His people to be.  As a married woman, I am particularly attracted to the woman described in Proverbs 31.  This is the ideal woman who is approved by God as an exemplary model of what a women should be  For this reason, this ideal is also what I seek for myself. Yes, a high standard, but Christians have been called to move in the right direction.  This time here is transient; we have an eternity ahead of us.

My starting point, therefore, is my destination: Proverbs 31.