Living Out Christ

Living out the gospel can be rough, troublesome, tumultuous, joyful, illuminating, exhilarating, etc…One thing is for sure, living out the gospel is not stagnant. So why is this? Truth be told, that man on the cross questioned down to the bottom of hell, for our sakes, is the ultimate question that God puts to us. What we do with Jesus determines not only who we are but how we will live. 

As followers of Christ we are called to be imitators of Him – that is, to participate in His ministry of reconciliation. This can only happen when: First, we recognize our need of Jesus; and second, see the needs of others before our own. Being in Christ is a process of growth – it is a daily movement into His movement. I like what John Newton (author of Amazing Grace) writes:

I am not what I ought to be.I am not what I wish to beI am not even what I hope to by.But by the cross of Christ,I am not what I was

We can only live out our love of Christ as well as suffer for his sake when, through the Holy Spirit, Christ becomes the pattern of our life and the person after which we would sculpture our person. As Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children ²and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (Eph 5.1-2). 

Take this moment and ask the Lord to highlight areas of your life that you could better imitate Christ.  Stop, and take in this moment – take to heart the proverb, Carpe diem – which simply means, “Seize the day!”  Thank God for this moment and celebrate your life by living out Christ in your love to God, to yourself, and to the other!

So Close No Matter How Far

The band Metallica writes:

So close no matter how far

Couldn't be much more from the heart

Forever trusting who we are

No nothing else matters

 

Never opened myself this way

Life is ours, we live it our way

All these words I don't just say

And nothing else matters

This is how so many people live their lives – focused on self such that their trust is in who they are, living life their way, because in the end, “nothing else matters.”

The drama of life - what does it have to say about a life focused solely on self? What would this look like? A nation of self-possessed people...Chaos and confusion or comfort and compassion?

The Bible says that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will not only be satisfied, but they will also be blessed (cf. Matt 5.6). In fact, Jesus goes on to tell us not to store up treasures on earth but to store up for ourselves treasures in heaven. He then makes this most audacious claim: where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (cf. Matt 6.19-21).

Oh Jesus...

Think about it, Jesus is stating that the one who hungers and thirsts for righteousness is one who has her priorities right. Let's be realistic, surely Jesus must not understand what He is saying...Or better yet, His sermon on the mount isn't meant for Americans. America is the land of the free, the land of independence. Any show of interdependence is a sign of weakness. We are meant to have our treasures here on earth and have the focus of life be on self - on myself.

This is why the message of Jesus is radical and expects nothing less than radical change. He does not ask us for anything - He asks us for everything!

The follower of Christ is one whose heart is an offense to this world because it is enveloped by and in the love of Jesus. We want nothing more than to live as Jesus because He is our treasure. For a person who hungers and thirsts for righteousness nothing else matters but the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The drama of salvation reorients the meaning of life; it re-writes the lyrics of our lives. Those who hunger and thirst for the righteousness of God are satisfied because they have stepped into Christ’s redeeming performance and now, everything, or better yet, everyone matters because nothing else but Jesus matters!

Ah the beautiful paradoxes of faith…If nothing but our Triune God matters in the treasure of our heart, then the lyrics of our song can truly sing, “forever trusting who we are” because we have realized the truth that we are created in the image of a loving God who has poured out His love into our hearts. And from this love we live life our way, which is Jesus’ way, seeking the lost and brokenhearted so that they too might hunger and thirst for the righteousness of God.