I'm doing such a great job posting things!  ;)

Okay. . . here you go.

This is what I was thinking on the way to work this morning.  (You should probably run away because there's NO TELLING where this could go!)  ;)  Well, it started out about how some people get "saved" to escape the fire of Hell because they're afraid or don't want to go there, but essentially, their salvation is out of fear.  Some people get "saved" because Jesus was knocking on the door of their heart.  (I'm one of those people).  I was wondering if it really makes a difference which one you are--like maybe the reason for giving your heart was wrong.  I had kind of decided that if my husband gave me his heart for the wrong reason, it really wouldn't matter.  What would matter is that he gave me his heart wholly.  About that time, I remembered what I learned this summer about welding while I was at Topre as part of teacher exchange program.  This guy drew me a picture of what happens when you weld.  He showed me what it looks like under the microscope after two pieces of metal are welded together.  No matter which way you weld the pieces together, the final product is not like the original product.  You have this area where the two metals melt together and become one.  The final product is much stronger than the single piece of metal was.  I think that what happens when a person gets "saved" is more like this.  God comes and dwells within that person.  He is so much a part of them that He cannot be separated from the person.  In turn, the person cannot be separated from Him.  He strengthens the person, so that he or she can withstand way more than he or she could withstand alone.

It totally changed my perception of salvation.  I've heard people say "once saved, always saved," and I've heard people say that "those who endure until the end will be saved." I've seen so many "good" people fall back into their old lifestyles.  I can't explain all that, and honestly, what matters is the condition of my heart and whether or not I am doing what God has called me to do.  I'm not here to judge.  That's His job.  This whole idea of the welding/melding together of God and man makes so much more sense to me.  I mean, Paul (I believe it's Paul) talks about how God transforms lives, how a person is a new creature after he or she is "saved."  :)