Learning to live by the indwelling life of Christ.
“To live is Christ” is never isolation, independence, or individuality. It is always a shared experience with the body of Christ. Sharing the word of Christ and the life of Christ. Full devotion to Christ and his church, empowered by resting in his full devotion to us while allowing his Spirit to both satisfy and transform our hearts daily in his presence. Together.
“To live is Christ” means experiencing the fullness of the Spirit, the word of Christ, in us richly. To be Spirit filled is to be full of the message of Christ and his good news. And then allowing the Spirit’s word of Christ to flow out of our lives and out of our mouths to the glory of God and to the edification of the church. Not in spectacular sermons or miraculous linguistic displays. But in the simple, every day, conversations of disciple making.
“To live is Christ” is made possible by the indwelling Holy Spirit. He is the giver of Christ’s peace, love, and joy to all who are in Christ by faith.
“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 move out into the lives of those we invite to share the life of Christ with us. And to do it in the freedom of Jesus’ own empowering authority and love. Any person. Any time. Any place. 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. May this hope of the glorious renewal of all things sustain and empower us as we live through days of pain and loss, hopelessness and hurt, until that day when we too will walk out of our graves into the presence of the Son. Until then do not be afraid.
To Live is Christ 