Titus 2:11 (NIV) “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.”
S.O.S. Save our Souls. The cry of a fellow human being whose life is at risk. A salvation imperative. A salvation priority. Response is critical. It demands our full attention. It demands our best resources. It calls from us supreme effort, even risk-taking on our part. Questions of rest, of cost calculation, of culpability, of personal comfort, of enmities and rivalries, of competitiveness, of analysis can all be put aside for later. We respond because that is what it is to be human. We respond, because we need to know that if it was us crying out a fellow human being would act.
S.O.S. Save our souls. The cry of a fellow human being whose life is at risk. A salvation imperative. A salvation priority. Time is critical. To hear that call triggers an immediate response from us. We respond with words of hope and reassurance: “Help is on the way.” We do not hesitate to respond or wait to first ask, “What gender are you?” “Which political party do you support?” “What colour is your skin?” “What language do you speak?” “How old are you?” “Can you repay me?” “Are you worth saving?”
S.O.S. Save our souls. The cry of a fellow human being whose life is at risk. A salvation imperative. A salvation priority.
Does a soul have gender? Which letter of the alphabet or label does it have – LGBTQIA+? cis? bi? ace? Does a soul have politics? Is it Democrat or Republican, Labour, or Conservative? Does a soul have colour or speak only Queen’s English? Does a soul have youth or independent means and a healthy bank balance? Is a soul worth saving?
If Christianity produces humans who are deaf to salvation imperative, to salvation priority, we will have failed. If Christianity produces humans who question the worth of another human’s soul, we will have failed.