Learning to live by the indwelling life of Christ.
“To live is Christ” is made possible by the indwelling Holy Spirit and the unending flow of Christ’s indwelling love, joy, and peace. The love, joy, and peace that surround our hearts when we trust that Jesus Christ has done it all in our place. The love, joy, and peace that propel our hearts forward into a decaying, broken, and sorrow filled world. And the love, joy, and peace that will tear down every wall of separation in the world when we allow him to fill the house with his presence.
“To live is Christ” is to live in all the power of the ascended Christ. To receive his Spirit. To receive God’s presence into our very being. And then to share that presence with one another as we stop gazing into heaven and start sharing the greatest story ever told with our Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and even the ends of the earth.
“To live is Christ” is to invite others to share the life of Christ with us. And to do it in the freedom of Jesus’ own empowering authority and love. Multiplying the life of Christ by the love of Christ. And in the process finding the meaning of your life in his.
“To live is Christ” is not only a union with Christ’s spiritual existence forever (which it is). It is a union with Christ’s bodily, physical existence forever.
“To live is Christ” means access. It means no more separation. No closed doors. No veils. No curtains. No blockade to God’s love and grace. The only thing blocking your heart from his is you. So take your eyes off of yourself and cast them onto Christ and his new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain of his flesh. And then live like you’re actually in God’s presence today. Because you actually are.
“To live is Christ” means there is nothing left for God to do. No greater work than the work already accomplished by your union with the cross. No further blessing than the blessing of Christ’s death. Nothing else to trust in, look for, commit to, or figure out. No gift, no sacrifice, no effort, no deed can add to the finished work of the cross of Christ. By the cross we stand justified, sanctified, glorified NOW. Our future is today. Our living is the cross of Christ. And our dying is gain.
To Live is Christ 