Oh, I’ve got a secret for you this morning. It is the secret that is better
than all secrets.
Have I ever mentioned that I hate secrets.
I once went out my bedroom window, taking off the screen, holding on to the
edge and dropping down (and before I thought of how the heck I was gonna get
back up there) with the keys to my mom’s car. It was Christmas time and I
didn’t think there were many presents to young me. So, out the window I went,
opening the trunk, finding a football in there and spending time outside
throwing the football to, uh, myself.
I hate secrets.
Except this one.
The Bible says: "For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of
Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you.
This gives you assurance of sharing his glory. So we tell others about Christ,
warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We
want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ."
The
Apostle Paul wanted you to know this secret...Christ lives in you. That it is
so meaningful to others, more so than
faith, mores than grace. Christ lives in you.
In Romans, he
writes, "And Christ lives within you, so even
though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you
have been made right with God."
In
Galatians, he writes, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer
live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith
in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."
In Colossians, he writes,
"To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious
riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."
Get the idea? Jesus is in us, for
those who believe.
And, uh, what does that mean to
us?
Does He begin living our lives
for us? Does He begin making our choices for us? Does Jesus like pizza? You know, important questions.
The Bible makes it clear that we
are to be the temple and abode of God. But how do God and
Christ live in us?
Here's MY secret. It is through the Holy Spirit. Therefore,
the degree to which God and Jesus Christ dwell in us depends on the degree to
which we follow the leading of God’s Spirit and use of its power to actually
become like God the Father and Jesus Christ in nature, character, spirit,
attitudes, approach and love.
What all the scriptures on this
subject reveal is that Jesus Christ’s life will be in us only as we seek to
make His way of life our way of life — to walk as He walked, to live as He lived. The Bible also calls this putting off the old man and putting on the new man.
We have a resource, a weapon as such, a
weapon against the Devil, against our own evil, against disease and failure. We
have a tool that we can go to when things are at their worst.
It's Him, the Holy Spirit. The
plain fact is the more we use the Holy Spirit to become like Christ, the more
His life will be in us and, thus, the more He lives in us. But that process is
under our will and control, not His. God wants us to choose to live as Jesus
lived by our free choice. This involves a humble, earnest seeking to become
like Jesus Christ so His life becomes our life.
I'm reminded of an Irish
prayer:
As I arise
today,
may the strength of God pilot me,
the power of God uphold me,
the wisdom of God
guide me.
May the eye of God look before me,
the ear of God hear
me,
the word of God speak for me.
May the hand of God protect me,
the way of God lie
before me,
the shield of God defend me,
the host of God save me.
May Christ shield me today.
Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left.
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit,
Christ when I stand,
Christ in the heart of
everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of
everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye
that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
Amen
Amen
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