Hosanna

'HOSANNA' is the name of a worship song which has captured me in the past months. Well, it is actually more than a name. In a direct translation, it is actually a Hebrew word for "please save", or "save now". It is also used often as a word of praise in recognition of the Savior, Jesus Christ. Somehow, these 2 words caught my eye: Save and Praise.

In Mark 11:9-10, we can see the people crying "Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest" Are they crying hosanna for salvation, or are they crying out to praise? What I think is, both. Salvation is what leads to praise.

Sometimes I wonder, what exactly am I praising God for? Because He helped me with my studies? Yep. Because He gives me peace and health? Correct also. But it just seems as though those things are rather secondary. Because if I don't do well with my studies, if I don't have peace and health, does that mean I don't praise God? No! Thats because we are praising God for something more fundamentally important; Salvation.

Salvation is one of the biggest gift bestowed upon us when we believe in Christ. And yet, its the gift which many people overlook. You can ask Christians why do you believe in God, and you might get answers like peace, a goal in life, purpose, etc. You might even hear some people saying, friends. Well, I'm not saying its wrong to want peace or a purpose, its good to have peace and purpose. But we cannot overlook the most basic part of our belief, salvation.

Jesus died on the cross not so we can have a purpose or have peace, He died so that we may be saved. Thats the most important thing in Christianity. If we are not praising God for salvation that has been given to us, then we are really missing the point. We are praising God for He has saved us from what we were: sinners. Thats salvation. And its for this salvation that we keep serving God with our hearts.

So, even when we seem totally lost, without purpose, without joy, without hope, without peace, without anything, we can still praise God for the salvation given to us. Because salvation is the one thing that the devil cannot rob from us. It is why we cry, "Hosanna".