April 7

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith…” —HEBREWS 12:2

When many people first become Christians, there is the initial thrill of discovering Jesus to be alive and relevant. They experience excitement in learning new truth about His purpose and ability to bring meaning and quality into everyday life. Often, they are overwhelmed with an exhilarating feeling of a fresh experience of God. But soon it tends to slip away. Why does this happen and how is it rectified?

Before we become Christians, it is the Spirit of Christ who draws us to Him, enabling us to become Christians. Many know Him to be the “Author” of our faith, but fail to recognize that He is also the “Perfecter” of our faith, or as some translations say, “Finisher” of our faith. They have allowed Jesus to begin His good work in making them Christians, but believe it’s their job to finish the work. As a result, many people continue to struggle, trying their best to please God. Again and again, they are frustrated, unable to maintain that initial momentum, and are left with an underlying fear that nothing is changing. 

Paul writes to the church in Colosse, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him…” (Colossians 2:6). Our ability to continue to live in Christ is on the same grounds as those upon which we received Him; that is through a genuine attitude of repentance and faith. To the church in Philippi, Paul writes, “I always pray with joy… being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6). 

The Bible is intensely alive with statements that speak about Christ as the life and source of all true spiritual activity. It is this that makes Christianity far more than just another religion and far more than a never-ending struggle to live a quality of life, which in our honest moments we recognize to be humanly impossible. It is not an escape from reality, but a plunge into reality where, by the indwelling presence of Christ, we begin to live as God intended. The Christian life is not what we do for God, but what God will do for us. We still go about our everyday business, but with a difference. Just as we received Christ in faith, we bring Him into every aspect of our lives, seeking His will in all things, and trusting His sufficiency. Dependence on the very life and activity of Christ within us, not just as the Author, but as the Perfecter of our faith is the essence of Christian living.

PRAYER: Thank you, Jesus, for drawing me to You, and indwelling my life with your presence. 

TO REFLECT UPON: Am I allowing Jesus to live His life in me?