Learning to live by the indwelling life of Christ.
“To live is Christ” isn’t just something that happens to us, it is an invitation into what God is doing through us. It is the New Covenant being enacted IN our lives and BY our lives. By our faith in the indwelling life of Christ, and our faithful words and deeds, we make the good news of the New Covenant accessible to all that we come in contact with each and every day.
When we choose to embrace his cruciform life, our sacrificial love will always be the aroma of the crucified Christ to others. To some it will be a fragrance from life to life. But to others it will be a fragrance from death to death. To some your life will smell sweet, and to others your life will be a revolting stench. Some will embrace you, others may reject you. Our response to the cross is a life of humility and joy that spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. The rest is up to God.
“To live is Christ” means we are the living embodiment of God’s great big YES. All of his promises are fulfilled in Christ and now in us. How do we know? Because he has anointed and sealed us with himself, the Spirit, by the indwelling life of Christ. God has preserved us for future glory. Now we can say yes to God. Yes, to serving. Yes, to sacrifice. Yes, to love.
“To live is Christ” means we are never alone in our suffering, and we are never meant to leave others alone in theirs.
“To live is Christ” is to live in his steadfast, immovable, abounding love so that we might live today from his eternal work of love. So take heart in the resurrection hope of Jesus. Be steadfast. Be immovable. Abound in the Lord’s work. Because nothing you will do today is meaningless. Like Christ himself, it is all eternal.
“To live is Christ” is to swallow evil. No more running. No more hiding. No more revenge. Because death, evil, and suffering can no longer defeat us, we can now face them with the resurrection power of Christ. Transforming them into his life and love, his goodness and service.
To Live is Christ 