A much-beloved Protestant hymn asserts, “This Is My Father’s World.” The song has a beautiful melody, and the sentiment is tempting. Yet, the reality of the matter—as so pointedly shown by the many sudden and destructive events caused by natural disasters—is that our world today is not our Father’s world.

Can we obtain salvation by our own efforts? If we obtain salvation, is it true that we are “once saved, always saved”? Many people are confused about the truth behind these doctrines. Scripture tells us that a Christian is justified by grace (Titus 3:7). So, what does it mean that we must not lose what we have worked for (2 John 1:8)? If justification is by Christ’s blood (Romans 5:8–10), then why is eternal life the reward of the righteous (Matthew 25:46), while eternal death awaits the unrepentant sinner (Ezekiel 18:4; Romans 6:23; Revelation 2

Years ago, on a bitter cold night in January, our house caught on fire. Our family of seven slept upstairs in a wooden farmhouse.  As we raced down the stairs, fire was coming up through the steps below. That night, my Dad, Mom and I were able to put out the fire, but not before it had ruined part of our home.

Seeing a tattered American flag displayed on the home next door after a windstorm, my aged father-in-law—a Colonel retired from the United States Air Force—set out to offer his neighbor a replacement for the damaged flag. I accompanied him as we met the neighbor, a short, portly man with white hair and a big smile. He had not realized that his flag was in tatters, and he graciously accepted the new flag as it was offered.

Alfred Lord Tennyson, one of the greatest poets in English history, wrote: “If I had a flower for every time I thought of you, I could walk in my garden forever.” These sweet terms of endearment sadly do not reflect mankind’s universal experience. The history of mankind’s attempts to find “true love” seems instead to offer very little that stands the test of time.