If

“If whiskey had the power to cure anything, I could save the world.”  Miss Kitty spoke these heartfelt words on a recent episode of Gunsmoke. Out on the Kansas prairie, in the late 1800s, fresh fruits and vegetables were hard to come by, and many normally hardy folks succumbed to scurvy.  Doc Adams knew what the cure was, and it wasn’t whiskey, even though the Longbranch had plenty of it. “If” is such a small word, and yet it is similar to a key, one that will unlock a need or promise.  For example: If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.  Or, if I can save some money I can buy a car, home, new clothes, or an education, etc.  We can “if“ our lives away, pining for things seemingly out of our reach.  But are they?  With some hard work, and action, Doc searched out, and found, the needed vitamin C resources.  We also have the ability to save money, and accrue those necessary items.  Similarly, there is an “if“, a vital key if you will, to obtaining the most valuable asset in life, SALVATION.  There are those who think it can be attained in the following ways: If I do enough good works; If I attend church regularly; If I obey the 10 commandments; if, if, if .  Salvation is not something to leave to chance, or to what we think that “if-key“ may be.  God offers us the only “if” we need, in the form of faith in his son.  It is the key that opens the door to eternal life.  Are you sure you have the correct key?  If not, Paul instructs us on how to find it when he says, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9