Day 30

“We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body.” — 2 Corinthians 4:10-11

My wife and I knew a very godly man. He was a simple, but biblical preacher who encouraged us greatly. He had a wonderful saying: “For this I have Jesus.” He printed little yellow bookmarks with these words, and gave them away to many people.

Shortly before he died, he suffered two successive strokes, and his speech was slurred, his balance off. Just after his release from the hospital, I spoke to him on the phone. His speech was impaired, and he slurred with difficulty these words, ‘For this I have Jesus’. He was saying, “I’ve enjoyed Jesus in the good times, with health and strength and mobility, and I’m enjoying Him in the bad time – and He is sufficient for both.”

We can have a Jesus who is little more than the patron of our systematic theology. We can have a Jesus who is our teacher and guide. Or we can have a Jesus who is our Life, who operates at the heart of everything in our lives, whether good or bad, comfortable or painful. That’s the ‘Jesus’ my friend knew. It’s the same Jesus the Apostle Paul knew every time his boat sank, every time he was beaten, whipped, thrown in jail, or fleeing for his life. That’s why his second letter to the Corinthians is such a remarkable letter. It is filled with information about events that, humanly speaking, should have knocked him down and counted him out. But again and again, Paul demonstrated that his life and security lie exclusively in the presence of Jesus in him. He said, “For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that His life may be revealed in our mortal body.”

Having survived many trials, conflicts and persecutions, Paul writes in Philippians 4:12-13, “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” That is the essence of spiritual reality. It is the presence of God in our lives, shaping, preparing and equipping us for His purpose in this world. That is why we die to ourselves, Paul says, so that the resurrected life of Christ may be revealed in our mortal bodies. As it was for my friend, for Paul, and for any Christian.... ‘For this I have Jesus’. Is that how you know Him?

Prayer: Dear Lord, ‘for this I have Jesus’, is wonderfully true, and I thank you, lord. you meet all my needs and I ask that you be at the heart of everything that takes place in my life. help me to stay strong in your spirit, always focused on you in good times and hard times. in your precious name, I pray.

To reflect upon: What were the circumstances in which I last experienced hardship and to what degree did I bring Jesus in? How did that affect me and spiritually, would I do things differently next time?