Day 20

“For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.”  — COLOSSIANS 2:9-10

I don’t like to admit it, but a long time ago, I used to think of Christ as merely the patron of my Christianity, and not who I was living for. When I gave my life to Him, I figured I had received three things which enabled me to become a Christian, and these things were my provision to live the Christian life. First, there was a ticket, second, a certificate and third, a catalogue.

 The ticket represented a one-way journey to heaven. Through the acknowledgement of my sin before God and my willingness to turn from it, I had the assurance of the gift of everlasting life. I was going to heaven! And I believed that this was the ultimate goal of the work of Christ, the reason why He died and I was saved. 

The certificate I received stated, “This is to certify that Charles Price has all his sins forgiven… signed, God.” The certificate was absolutely necessary in order for me to be eligible for the ticket to heaven. Furthermore, the certificate had been written in blood, because the Bible stated, “… and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7) My life now was surely a response to this, because I was living in such a way that I was expressing gratitude for all Christ had done for me.

Of course, it was the living for Him that was so difficult, and this is where the third item, the catalogue, came in. It was called the Bible. I was to read the catalogue and discover all kinds of things that were available to me from God. Through prayer, all I had to do was put my order in. Then it would be the task of the Holy Spirit to bring these various commodities to me.

But I was beginning to see that God was not fi lling my order, nor showering upon me a wide variety of spiritual gifts. What I discovered was that God was actually giving me Himself! All the things I had asked for were to be an expression of the life of God within me. I knew then that it was the actual presence and working of God Himself, living in me, that makes the Christian life possible. Christ, alone, does what we try so hard to do ourselves.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, I can’t imagine what my life would be like without your presence in me. As hard as we try, I know it’s impossible to live the Christian life without You. I am so grateful for your indwelling Spirit that lives in me. Thank You, Lord.

TO REFLECT UPON: In my early days as a Christian, did I ever think that Jesus was just up there watching all my efforts to please Him? What difference has it made knowing Christ lives in me and is empowering me to live the Christian life?