Every time we say the Lord’s Prayer, we ask for “deliverance from evil” – that is, we pray for the salvation of our souls.  How strange it is, therefore, that although God in the Person of Our Lord Jesus Christ suffered as he did in order to make that salvation possible, yet so many find it objectionable when it is actually offered to them!  Indeed are there not times when we ourselves do not want it?

Of course, we all want to have final salvation, to be saved in the next life from the consequences of our sins in this; to enjoy the utter bliss of eternal life with the all-holy God – though there are many who would find that little to their liking.

But salvation is a greater thing than that.  “…you are to name him Jesus”, said the angel to St Joseph. “for he will save his people from their sins” (NRSV, Matthew 1:21).  Save us, that is, not merely from the consequence of our sins, from that woeful state of permanent separation from God which Holy Scripture calls eternal death; but save us also from committing sins now.  As so often with the things of God, the salvation which Christ has to offer is greater than we desire or deserve.  It is an offer to save us from the power of sin in the present.

But do we always want that?  Do we always want to be saved from pride and self-seeking, from lies and half-truths, from vile and shameful thoughts, from spiteful and malicious talk, from bearing grudges and taking offence, from a quarrelsome or unforgiving spirit?  Because that is the salvation which Christ offers us.