“To live is Christ” offers to us the very strength of God. Christ’s tireless love lives in us. His unfainting grace is our power. The power to soar, to run or just to walk. The power that comes not by striving, but by resting, waiting, and hoping in God’s love for us. The power that comes by removing all of your unloving expectations from yourself and others, and placing them all on the all powerful, all knowing, all loving God of creation.
“To live is Christ” means we can and should expect the love of Jesus to overwhelm our lives each and every day. Why? Because his love has already overwhelmed every enemy of love there is – fear, death, shame, guilt. Now we can love freely from freely given love. Not purchased love, but a love that purchased us.
“To live is Christ” means that Christ won’t leave us in the grave of our death either. He won’t leave us behind the wall of our fear and shame. He is calling out to you and to me, Arise my love and come away. Meet me on the other side of the wall. Escape with me to the garden of my perfect love.
“To live is Christ” means living beyond this earthly life in the hesed of God that is beyond comparison. Now nothing done in this life is a gamble. Success or failure, win or lose, garden or desert, all can drive us deeper into the steadfast love of our covenant King.
“To live is Christ” still does not mean that we should now “follow our hearts.” But it does mean that now our hearts can follow Jesus into the glory and grace of God.
“To live is Christ” has made the impossible unconditional love of neighbor possible. When we remember each day that Jesus loves us, his neighbor, as much as he loves himself, it is then that we can find the freedom to move past our unworthiness and the default of earning love, and move into the freedom of a love given to us simply because we are God’s neighbor.
