On my recent vacation trip to Japan, I struggled to remember my Japanese language, which I studied in school over forty years ago. Whenever I encountered a situation for which the Japanese phrase did not immediately come to mind, I had to reconstruct it in my mind. As my mind translated the English phrase into Japanese and I attempted to communicate, I was surprised to hear an occasional Spanish word sneak out. I am even less skilled at Spanish but, somehow, my brain was grabbing any foreign word in a failed attempt to communicate. These are two very dissimilar languages, only sharing the common link that both are languages. Yet, I readily gravitated to this seemingly incongruous relationship. 

The nature of God is often subject to similar confusion. Some pundits declare that all religions are the same. One definition of religion is man’s attempt to explain the universe and one’s existence by attributing it to a supernatural being or beings. Thus words like love, salvation, and enlightenment, common to all religions, are conflated and the distinctions between religions are blurred. While this does unite many religions, like my failed attempt to substitute a Spanish word for a Japanese word, it ignores fundamental differences. 

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 

Ephesians 2:8-9 (NLT)

Not all religions are not alike. All other religions are based upon works and the fulfillment of certain requirements to achieve salvation or enlightenment. Christianity is the only religion based upon grace. There is nothing we can do by our own efforts to earn or achieve salvation. We are finite creatures striving after the infinite. The only way we can find salvation is for an omnipotent God to take the initiative and give it to us. We must recognize we are fallen creatures, broken by sin. Only by recognizing our forlorn and helpless state confessing and repenting of our sins and accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, are we able to receive salvation and eternal life. 

Christianity does not share a common link with other religions because it is not a religion. It is a relationship with God. He reached out to us when we were incapable of doing it on our own. 

Love and trust in the Lord; seek His will in your life.

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