I was driving to my parents house this morning when I came to a stop light and found myself behind this white Ford truck. I noticed there was scripture on the back and decided to take a photo to send to my husband. The scripture is Romans 10:9 and the New King James Version is what you see on the truck. The English Standard Version says it this way- “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

As we drove our separate ways I began to think about how simplistic the Christian faith is. Think about it, all we have to do in order to be saved is confess with our mouths Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised Him from the dead! That’s it!!  As a child that was so easy for me to accept. However in college I began to question, could it be that simple???

By my early twenties I thought I had done so much wrong in my life, surely I would have to do something in order for God to forgive my sins and accept me, right? Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t murder anyone, but I had done other big things that I thought would have surely disqualified me from being called a “Christian.” And I certainly would not have confessed what I had done to anyone!!

I was 25 years old when I finally got it. That was when I truly understood and accepted that salvation is an undeserved, free gift. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” I had read that verse a hundred times growing up, but it finally made sense at age 25.

Why 25 you ask? That would be the age I was when I found out I was pregnant. If you watched our testimony, then you know my husband and I were not married at the time….heck, we were not even dating! I won’t get into details, but trust me when I say, it was ugly (don’t worry, it has a happy ending). But the point I want to make here is that at the ripe old age of 25, I realized that this unplanned pregnancy was not a sin that I could hide! Everyone was going to know that I was having sex before I was married. Every other sin I had ever committed…lying, stealing, coveting, cheating, I could go on….no one EVER had to know. But this time it was different. My pregnant belly and ring-less finger were to me as the scarlet letter was to Hester.

Facing all these unknowns, I began to question my salvation; but thankfully an amazing woman (Terri Wilkinson) took me under her wing and became my counselor, my mentor, and my friend. I met with her weekly for the duration of my pregnancy. It was because of people like her that I began to realize how messed up my view of God was. Even though my head knew what the Bible said about salvation, my heart hadn’t caught up.

Terri helped me realize that God was going to use that pregnancy for His glory, and that no matter what wrong I had done in my life, God still loved me and I was still a Christian. Have you ever felt that way? Have you felt as though you were too far gone to still be saved?? I love the stories in the Bible. With the exception of Jesus, almost everyone else in the Bible screwed up big time! A christian rap artist, Lecrae, recently posted this on his Facebook, “Noah got drunk, Jacob lied, Moses murdered, Rahab was a whore, David had an affair. God still used em. What’s your excuse?” Does that encourage you like it does me? No matter how far gone we think we are, God can still use us!

Have you ever accepted Jesus as your Savior? It really is as simple as Romans 10:9. “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” If you’ve already made that decision to follow Him, maybe you’re like me and think you’ve screwed up too many times. You haven’t. He still wants us. He can still use us. He’s given you the choice…all you have to do is accept the undeserved, free gift of salvation.

It amazes me how simple God made it. You can’t pray enough, go to church enough, read your Bible enough, serve enough…there’s nothing you can do because salvation isn’t something you earn, it’s something you accept. No one can work their way to Heaven! Isn’t that great news? I don’t know about you, but I’m relieved. I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t make it to Heaven if we had to work for it!

The person who drives that white truck will probably never know just how many people he has (and will continue to) reach. By simply posting a verse to his tailgate he is changing lives, one stop light at a time. I’m so glad our vehicles crossed paths. Seeing that verse was a great reminder of how simple salvation is.

Thanks for sharing the Truth white truck.