20/20: God's Vision For My Lifeনমুনা

More than a Ticket to Heaven

By Bobby Bogard

May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God. Philippians 1:11

In August 1972, my family moved to the small community of Des Arc, Arkansas. At that time, my mom had been through several marriages. Her present husband had a twin brother who was the pastor of a church in town called Gospel Mission Church.

Although I had never attended church growing up, the two beautiful girls I met at the pastor’s home inspired me to give it a shot. So when a small group of young people on fire about sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ went on a mission trip to witness in a nearby community, I joined them. On that trip, I began to realize I didn’t have a testimony of my own and that I was far from God. I fought the urge to give my life over to God and resisted His call to salvation. But over the next couple of weeks, I couldn’t stop thinking about the sincerity and genuine love I’d witnessed in those young men and women. There was a war taking place in my mind over all the things I’d have to give up if I became a “Jesus Freak.” It just wasn’t “groovy” to be a Christian.

Then—on Wednesday, August 15, 1972—it happened. I had just attended a powerful service and my heart had softened enough to receive the gospel. As I sat at the dinner table in the parsonage with my step-uncle, he asked me the right question at the right time: “Bobby, do you want to be saved from sin and have a new life that only God can give you?” I didn’t even answer. Instead, I ran through the parsonage into the church and threw myself on the altar.

I came to realize the salvation process is so much more than just a ticket to heaven. While I had become a child of God that Wednesday evening, there were more areas of my life that needed to be devoted to God. The amazing thing about salvation is that God wants to save us for His purposes in this life. He saves us from sin and hell, but He also saves us to life and life more abundantly (John 10:10). The Bible speaks of this as laying aside your old self and putting on your new self (Ephesians 4:20–24). So the Lord begins to heal and deliver us from our past to give us His future in this life.

Over the years, God lovingly began to address areas of my soul where I had been wounded and broken. He healed my wounds from the painful words spoken by my father when he said, “You’re not my son anymore” and the words he wrote on his last child support check that simply said, “Paid in full.” He saved me from the feelings of abandonment those words had created.

In time, my relationship with my earthly father was restored, but my heavenly Father didn’t stop there. He began to save me from my inability to be a good father. He brought men into my life to model what a husband, a father, and a godly man should look like. I began to grow into His image, and as I did, He saved my household (Acts 11:14; 16:31). My wife, Rose, and I broke the generational curse of divorce in our family, and we recently celebrated 34 years of marriage! My daughter and son are both currently planting churches with their spouses. It remains to be seen what our grandchildren will do, but I believe in God’s promises to reach a thousand generations for those who follow Him.

Looking back, I’ve come to realize a significant truth about salvation—there’s a difference between my part and God’s part in the process. Paul put it in perspective when he wrote, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9). Jesus pursued me while I was in sin, loved me in spite of my sin and saved me from the bondage of sin. I have neither the ability nor the resources to save myself. Every aspect of His complete salvation is accomplished by His doing and by His power to save.

What about your life? Have you given God the opportunity to save you? Are you seeing His salvation at work in you to complete all that He has begun in you? “I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).

Being a Christian is more than just an instantaneous conversion—it is a daily process whereby you grow to be more and more like Christ.
~ Billy Graham

Memory Verse

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8–9