Romans 9: Christian by Default?

 "⁶It is not as though God's word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. ⁷Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham's children."

Many Christians are blessed (and, occasionally, cursed) to have grown up in a devout Christian family. Before they've even left their mother's womb they are surrounded by Biblical words, praise and worship hymns, and fervent prayer. They know their biblical heroes before they know their alphabet. They are well (sometimes "overly") disciplined and sheltered from the sinful world. 

Not all these children, however, take the step to evaluate what it is they truly believe. They float through the Christian faith, going through the motions and expecting to be saved by default. Their parents are Christians---and so were their grandparents, and great-grandparents, and....and...etc. They come from a long line of "Born Agains" and believe that they are entitled to Salvation because of their heritage.

This is exactly the same trap the Jews fell into in Jesus' time. They believed that they were God's children by default---that their lineage guaranteed their entrance into Heaven. Despite the fact that scriptures contradict this idea, many people do not stop to think about it and make the decision for themselves. 

I don't remember much else from that era in my life, but my prayer of Salvation at age five is seared into my heart and mind. In my teenage years I became fearful that my childhood prayer had not been sufficient to save me, so I would pray many times that God would forgive me and begged for the Salvation Christ offered. While my frantic repeated prayers demonstrated a lack of faith, at least I re-evaluated my faith for myself. I've made mistakes. I've rebelled. But I know what I believe. I've grown up with others who never thought twice about their faith. They never considered Christianity any more than a part of their heritage. They never stopped and examined their own beliefs. 

Don't let your heritage silence the Holy Spirit. Make sure you've made a conscious decision to accept the tenets of your faith. We all better be sure that the only person's coattails we're riding to Heaven is Jesus's... otherwise we may be in for a devastating shock.