August 27. 202

I will shortly be traveling for a time in the US. In order to do this it is important to be able to identify myself to the Border guard. I could arrive at the border thinking I know who I am and surely when the border guard sees me he will know, yep that Kevin Cleary Canadian Citizen. As convenient as it would be if this were the case the reality is the guard will want proof. He will want some (to use his words) “documentation”. For this purpose, I have a passport it has my picture, identifies me, and proves I’m Canadian. This way I will have no problem crossing the border and continuing my trip.
     We as Christians have another aspect to our identity. We are God’s people. Just like our physical identity we need some documentation of our spiritual identity. Is there such a thing? Can we know we are God’s and can God identify us as his?
     The answer is yes! Unlike the passport that I have to carry with me the documentation from God is with us all the time. In Ephesians 1:13 Paul says we have been given the Holy Spirit as a seal. This is not the seal that keeps our food fresh; instead, it is like an identifying marker. II Timothy 2:19 points out (again making reference to the seal) that God know those who are his. It is comforting to know the saved have documentation before God. What about us though? Can the saved know they are saved? Is there documentation for us?
     When I approach the border, I find myself invariably touching my pocket or even getting my passport out to assure myself that I have everything in order. I say it’s because of the sign telling me to have my documents ready, but if that sign were gone, I know I would still be grasping my passport ready to hand it out the window open to the right page.
     Wouldn’t it be nice if there were documentation for our trip into eternity? There is, God has not left us to wonder about our standing before him. He has told us, what we need to do to have everything in order and keep it that way. This information comes to us in scripture. I Corinthians 2:6-16; John 16:12-14; II Peter 1:21; II Timothy 3:15-17 all inform us that God communicates to man through the Bible. And it is in this communication from God that we can find his promises to us consider I Corinthian 6:11 after listing a number of sinful conditions Paul points out that Christians no longer have their sins. A similar affirmation is found in Rom 8:31-39. Christians do have documentation, it’s the Bible. No wonder so many who are approaching death do so grasping their Bibles, they like me at the border want to know that everything is in order.
     Knowing then how to know that we are right with God, lets always keep our Bibles close not just grasping them but reading and loving them. Furthermore, let them reveal the true object of our love the Lord Jesus who is responsible for our salvation.
(Anyone who wants to know specifically what the Bible says about how to be saved see: Rom 1:16; 10:9-10; Acts 3:19; Acts 2:38; Rom 6:1-4; Gal 3:27)

~ Kevin Cleary