In Wise Blood, by Flannery O'Connor the lead character is Hazel Motes. Hazel has been raised inside a family immersed in the Bible, but afraid of God. To the family God was a harsh judge who kept meticulous records of each human being’s mistakes and stood ready to severely punish them all on Judgment Day. 

 

Hazel Motes had never experienced joy. Ever since his unhappy youth he had been thinking that Jesus must be the problem and that the way to avoid Jesus was to avoid sin. He tried to live so God would have to bless and save him. He avoided Jesus as Savior, but knew his teachings and demands. 

 

When that didn't work he turned his anger against others and eventual against himself.

 

He knew religion, but missed Jesus. When we trust in our own goodness rather than in Jesus for our standing with God, we are left holding on to nothing, but our own skin. 

 

Timothy Keller, in The Reason for God, calls this a…"Christianized form of religion that focuses on avoiding Jesus as Savior while keeping all the Biblical rules." 

 

I call it the great messed up.

 

The baseline of Christian faith is, Do you believe in and accept Jesus as Savior? Not, do you believe the Bible, or your Sunday school teacher, or your mom? The beginning question is: Do you accept the Son of God as your Savior? Everything flows from that faith answer. 

 

Remember this? "For God did not send his Son in the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." John 3:17 NIV 

 

The Savior changes everything, but sometimes it takes failure to sense and accept the changes he has made. These opportunities for growth and insight come unannounced at various stages of life. They pop-up when we least expect, usually when we are in a hurry, or out of time.

 

Karen shared her latest learning experience with me: 

 

I was on my way home from work and decided I'd better fill my car with gas just in case I got stuck in traffic somewhere, anticipating the winter weather that had been forecast. So, I stopped at the RaceTrac even though it seemed the price had gone up another dime overnight. 

 

As I was pumping my gas, a man approached me with a little girl in tow. He was Hispanic and I was instantly wary because this was the area where all the day laborers waited for work every day. He told me he was on his way from Cleburne to McKinney and the gas light in his Pathfinder had come on and he had no money left for gas. 

 

I told him I was sorry, but I had no cash with me. He stood there a moment longer and asked if I knew where he could get some help. It was after 5:00 pm. I told him most of the charities and churches were probably already closed, so I didn't know. I wished him luck and he walked on over to the next person. 

 

As he walked away, the questions flooded my heart. Why didn't I offer to fill his tank on my debit card? What is wrong with me? 

 

Guilt and an over-whelming sense of selfishness lingered. This is not the person I want to be! Jesus saved me when I had nothing, and I refused to do this little thing? 

 

I pulled a U-turn right before Arkansas Street and went back to the gas station. The man was now inside with his 3 little girls. I pulled open my glove box and grabbed the coin holder and went inside. I asked him if he'd found anyone to help him. With tears filling his eyes, he said No. 

 

It didn't take long to empty that coin holder of all the change it had stored. It was probably about $20 or so, mainly quarters. I hated to have to give him change, but that was what I had. 

 

"God bless you," I said as I turned and walked away. 

 

I wish I had not hesitated so long, or been so wary of him. All the way home I prayed that God would forgive me, and I thanked Him for stepping in to give me the courage to go back. I won't hesitate next time. Jesus didn't.

 

Karen met a man who needed a savior. Eventually she did the "savior thing." She just followed HIS lead. We are not saved because of what we do, we are saved to show others what being saved looks like. 

 

in a small way, that evening Karen had become Jesus. It wasn't about religion or duty, it was a faith moment. God used the stranger to teach her again about what a Savior does. He saves regardless of condition or circumstances. 

 

Unless you have accepted Jesus as Savior, you will not be able to see these moments. In fact, you will live not to see them; you will hurry past and keep the car moving at all times.

 

So, do you know HIM as savior? What will you do about it?