Learning to live by the indwelling life of Christ.
“To live is Christ” makes our confession and repentance acts of faith in our death with Christ and our resurrection with Christ to his indwelling righteous life. Only when we trust fully in what our union with Christ has already accomplished will we be free from the cycle of sin-repent-repeat. Only when we believe that all sin has been dealt with forever, will we find the freedom to pursue God’s holiness from faith and not from fear.
“To live is Christ” means trusting in Christ’s life alone as our witness. Never our own commitment level or words of promise. These will always testify against us. Only Jesus and his righteousness will bear witness for us on the day of judgment. May he be the only witness we call to the stand today and every day until he calls us home.
No matter what anyone throws at you, you can still stand. Nothing in life can separate you from God’s love. Nothing in life can steal your treasure. Nothing in life can take your life. Your life is hidden with Christ in God. That’s “to live is Christ,” and “to live is Christ” is to live in courage.
“To live is Christ” has given us a whole new operating system. The If-Then rule that would crush us is now made obsolete by the Because-Therefore rule of our union with Christ.
“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.
The wilderness is a gift of God’s grace. It is God’s love for us that leads us there. For it is there that our hearts are exposed by our hunger. It is there that we find Jesus waiting with his infinite love and grace wanting to truly satisfy our heart’s hunger. It is in the wilderness that we find that Jesus is more precious to us than anything this temporal world can offer. It is in the wilderness that “to live is Christ.”
To Live is Christ 