That’s NOT a statement that one hears often!
To be clear, I’m using that phrase as an attention getter and a key illustration. I most certainly do not have more than one wife. I have ONLY one wife. More to the point, the wife I have is utterly amazing, loves me with all her heart, and I can’t say enough good about her !!!!! She’s put up with a LOT from me, and yet she still loves me, regularly forgives me, and (as amazing at it may seem) wants me to spend the rest of my life with her. Talk about true love!!
But on to the illustration ….
In most of the cultures where this devotional will be read, a married man has ONE wife. I’m aware that is not the case in every culture, but by and large wherever you go in the world, one wife is the norm. Go to Europe — ONE wife. Pass through Asia (be it China, Japan or Vietnam) – ONE wife. Pass through most African nations – ONE wife. I could go on, but you get my point.
I think it is significant that this is also what God designed. Jesus said “From the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” So God’s perfect design was one man for one woman. In the Old Testament a polygamous system crept in, it it was not God’s original plan. Nowadays there are some people who are trying to mix and match with some fifty plus gender definitions, but that is another devotional altogether. There have always been people who wanted to avoid marriage, but the bible deals with that as well.
For some things — ONE IS ENOUGH !!!! You might have two or three favorite restaurants. No problem. You could even have a couple of pairs of favorite trousers or shoes. That’s fine. But, from God’s perspective of what is HIS BEST FOR YOU — one wife matched with one husband is it.
As I said, for some things — ONE IS ENOUGH !!!! Wives are like that. And so are saviors!
I recently read an article in the Christian Post that left me scratching my head. They reported that nearly 70% of Christians disagree with the biblical position that Jesus is the only way to God. Let me repeat that sentence with some words in ALL CAPS for emphasis:
— nearly 70% of Christians DISAGREE with the biblical position that Jesus is the ONLY WAY to God.
These are not just some general cross section of the population. These are people who self identify as “Christians.” They are people who answered “YES” when asked the question, “Have you ever made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in your life today?” When they were asked to identify WHY they thought they would go to heaven, they selected, “I will go to Heaven because I confessed my sins and accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior” from a list of several possibilities. These are good, proper and biblical answers.
But then four out of five of THESE SAME PEOPLE went on to say that Muhammad, Buddha and Jesus all taught valid ways to God.
REALLY ?!?!?
I’m not going to go into a theological examination of the key salvific approaches of these three “teachers.” That’s way beyond the scope a simple devotional. I’m simply going to highlight why this mindset has infected today’s generations.
We are living in an age of pluralism, where someone’s opinion is all-too-often given the weight of fact. If someone disagrees with the position of another, they are branded as “haters” and “intolerant” simply because they hold a different position. Feelings, not facts, drive the discussion (if there is one).
I agree that everyone is entitled to their own opinions. But opinions and facts are vastly different things.
You may be of the opinion that peanut butter tastes terrible. That will not have any perceptible negative impact on your life. But if you’re of the opinion that gravity is a myth because you can’t see it, that’s an entirely different matter. If you choose to believe that fire will not burn you, or that you can effectively breathe under water, or that you can fly like a bird — these can become very dangerous opinions indeed.
Facts and opinions are very different things. FACTS don’t change if you don’t agree with them.
The fact is that you CANNOT fly like a bird. It doesn’t matter how LONG you believe it or how HARD you believe it; you belief cannot change the fact of the matter. If you step off the top of a 30 story building because you’re convinced that you can fly like a bird you’re in for a very nasty shock in about 20 seconds or so.
When we begin to consider SAVIORS – there may be many different opinions. But the fact of the matter is laid out in today’s verse —
SALVATION IS FOUND IN NO ONE ELSE, FOR THERE IS NO OTHER NAME UNDER HEAVEN GIVEN TO MANKIND BY WHICH WE MUST BE SAVED
Mohammad may have some teachings that strike your fancy. But the Koran offers no promise of salvation. You can search from cover to cover and never find one.
Buddha’s approach to life and peace may pique your interest, but he never offered a path to eternal life. It wasn’t even on his radar.
Jesus came and said it clearly and plainly – “I am THE way, THE truth and THE life. NO ONE comes to the Father except through Me.”
Not very pluralistic – JUST TRUE.
Then He proved it by His resurrection from the dead.
Jesus meant what He said. Jesus delivers on His promise.
SALVATION IS FOUND IN NO ONE ELSE, FOR THERE IS NO OTHER NAME UNDER HEAVEN GIVEN TO MANKIND BY WHICH WE MUST BE SAVED
So let me end in much the same way as I began ….
I most certainly do not have more than one savior. I have ONLY one savior. More to the point, the savior I have is utterly amazing, loves me with all His heart, and I can’t say enough good about Him!!!!! He’s put up with a LOT from me, and yet He still loves me, regularly forgives me, and (as amazing at it may seem) wants me to spend the rest of my life with Him.
Talk about true love!!
