Alive in Christ, forever.

 

During Lent we desire a new life, filled with the power of the crucified and risen Christ.

We read in Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me."

 

Receiving a new life in Christ does not mean that I am now perfect. I still sin because of my weak human nature. But if my attitudes changes, and my view of whom I am in Christ Jesus change, I will find that this new identity inspires me to seek to serve my Lord. What changes is that I now live by faith in the Son.

 

Even when a donkey lives its whole life in a stable with horses, it will not change into a horse. It is possible for a person to live a whole life in the Church and never become a Christian. And it is possible for a Christian to live a whole life with the knowledge of being a new creature in Christ and never enjoy the resurrection life.
Only those who have faith can be obedient, and only the obedient, have faith!

 

We need faith that what the Bible says about us becoming new people who are alive in Christ, to be true and in obedience seek to walk the talk. This is what God desires for us.

 

If you understand what it means to be “crucified with Christ” and that you became a new person through his resurrection, you will not be able to forget this truth. Because you received salvation when you realized that Christ died for you and you acted upon it. Because you received salvation, you will never be the same person again. When we in faith begin to expect the Lord to live in us and through us, our lives will change, and we will desire for ourselves what God always desired for us.

 

What a joy it is to me that more and more members ask how they can grow spiritually and desire to become what Christ expects them to become and to sacrifice what God expects them to. Accepting in faith what the Word tells me the Lord thinks and dreams about me, is powerful. It is life changing and it is exciting.

 

How others see us is important for our self-image. But how God sees us is essential. And how we see ourselves is vital. If we see ourselves as people whose old self, the disobedient person, died with Christ and that we are alive with Christ, we do not want to ever be the same “person of death” again.

 

By faith in Jesus, we see that by the grace of God the old self has been put to death. It inspires selfless prayers to discover God’s plan for my life. It arouses a need to learn more and more about Jesus. It makes me thirsty for being truly alive in terms of God’s definition and in terms of Christ’s expectation for me. This is why we say with Paul "the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered himself up for me."

May we during this Season of Lent learn how to live for him. And may we be truly ready to rejoice in the victory of Jesus when we celebrate Easter!