Don’t argue with salvation when it arrives on your shores. Don’t try to dismiss or deny it. Give it your undivided attention. Do not be ashamed of how or why or when you’ve found it. Your journey here has been sacred. Greet salvation as an old welcomed guest. Meet it not with fanfare or pomp. Instead, put the kettle on to boil, pull up a chair, and let it speak life to you. Find the tender parts of your body and soul that are warmed by its words.

Don’t argue with salvation when it arrives at your door. Bid it wide welcome! Don’t be ashamed of where the path has led. Do not be embarrassed from all of the detours or missed plans. Don’t be shy about what it is that feeds you, that nourishes and refreshes your soul. Don’t be ashamed with how it greets you instead, welcoming you in its warm embrace. How could it be anything different?

Don’t argue with salvation when it stirs in your heart. When it brings you to act for others. When it calls you to street corners and picket lines. Don’t question it too harshly, to the point of missing it as it passes through. Relish it with every glimpse. Savor it with every taste of hope and good news. Don’t be afraid to bring that blessed, good news to others––to let your beautiful body carry its light, though heavy, burden. Don’t be afraid when it’s saving power destroys just as much as it rebuilds, uplifts, and renews.

Don’t argue with salvation when it finds you when you least expect it. In an empty parking lot. On the kitchen floor. In the eyes and arms of a beloved. Don’t try too hard to count its many ways—they’re immeasurable. Don’t exhaust yourself with naming it in words that fail to grasp it, with loose fingers. Surrender in those moments when you find yourself in its presence. Yield to it with an open, clay heart ready for moulding. Don’t try to shut it out too soon or run too far from it. It won’t make you stay. Indeed, it can’t. But it sure wishes to welcome you home.

Don’t argue with salvation when it saves your life. When it harbors your soul from great pain and harm. When it stays with you in the midst of the storm. Don’t give up on it too soon if it arrives a bit later than expected; I promise, it’s working on it. Don’t be too angry with it if it doesn’t look like you’d expect. Love it as you love your best self. Love it as your worst self; we could all use more grace. Serve it with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength. Don’t worry about its fragility; if it truly can take or bear the trials ahead of you and already in your midst. It’s so much stronger than you think.