Let my light shine

Writers know the power of words and punctuation. A misplaced comma can change the meaning. Even little words need to be exact. Today’s Bible passage has a little word that could be translated at least two ways from the original Greek to English. The biggest surprise is that either way is correct.

“But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles . . . .” (Galatians 1:15–16)

Some versions say “. . . was pleased to reveal his Son in me . . . .” rather than to me. As I consider the immediate context, I can see the value and truth in both versions.

The phrase “to me” describes how God opened Paul’s eyes so he could see Jesus. The Christ had been revealed to him, and because of that, Paul was motivated to proclaim Him and His saving work to the world. Seeing Jesus changed his life and his direction.

However, “in me” is also true. When people become Christians, the Spirit of Jesus Christ brings the very presence of the Lord into their hearts. When they abide in Christ in loving obedience, others can see Jesus in them. God uses this amazing phenomena to reveal Jesus Christ to others.

What are the steps? First, the sense of need must be there. It comes to us through conviction of sin and/or helplessness. Before I became a Christian, I recognized that I am a sinner and unable to save myself. I still recognize my sinfulness and am even more aware of my helplessness. In that attitude, I am eager to give my life to Christ, to have Him do in me what I cannot do myself.

Next, God reveals to sinners the wonder of Jesus Christ, the Savior. Seeing Him indeed changes everything. He forgives sin, grants repentance and faith, and comes into our lives. He lives in me!

This remarkable event happens just once, and He promises to never leave me or forsake me. However, the saving part has just begun. An illustration of a guest coming into our home is often used. It describes that the guest enters the house but is not given access to some of its rooms. I am to give full access to Jesus, allowing Him to not only enter all, but to be in charge of all. Sin permeates every part; so must the Savior.  When that happens, people began to see Jesus in me.

Regeneration is a biblical term for this wonderful new life. At first, the new Christian is called a babe in Christ because we have been spiritually reborn. As Jesus brings maturity to my faith, increasing both it and the desire to live in obedience, people see less of the old me and more of the new creation, the treasure, the life of Christ in this clay pot.

 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. (2 Corinthians 4:6–7)

As Jesus is manifested in the lives of His people, He is glorified and others are confronted and will respond. Some will fall in love with this wonderful God-man Redeemer, and others will hate Him and try to silence those who bear Him and His message.

How is this practical? Obviously, I’m to get out of His way and let the light of Christ shine through me.

In Christ

Rick Warren’s book, The Purpose-Driven Life, begins with, “It isn’t about you.” If I say, “But I am all that I really know” then the Holy Spirit reminds me that I also know Jesus. My life is supposed to be about Jesus, not so much about me.

While I struggle and strive to make that truth a visible reality, Spurgeon reminds me that the life of Christ was and is about me also. He begins with thoughts based on this passage . . . 

In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:11–14)

When Christ died, He died for me, for all those who believe. In Him we are forgiven and made righteous. We can do nothing of eternal value apart from Him. Yet without us, the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ would be pointless. What He did is tied to who and what we are — sinners who need a Savior. But then, in a dichotomy that shakes my ability to reason, He gives me the privilege, even the ability to glorify Him.

Imagine the most gifted artist finding a mud-spattered waif in the gutter. The artist reaches down and grasps the filthy hand. He pulls the muck-encrusted mess close to himself, washes her, feeds her, gives her all she needs. At the same time, he gently and firmly puts to death in her all that she used to be. Then, even as she is frail and wondering, he hands her a paintbrush and enables her to paint. From the end of the brush comes a glorious portrait of himself. And even though the portrait is all about him and glorifies the artist, the little one, who knows she cannot paint at all, was still part of the grandeur of its display. Such a mystery.

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

Lord, I am again blessed by Your words to me. You have bequeathed an inheritance to me that I did nothing to obtain. Your Son died that I might have all that is in Him. And He died also that I might be called Your child, Your heir. Because of Jesus, I am named in Your will.

Further, You give me great hope, not in myself, but in You. And in the hoping, You give the ability to bring praise to You, the Giver. It began when I first believed. At that moment, You sealed me as if putting a mark to declare that I belong to You. That seal is the Holy Spirit, continually affirming in my heart from that first moment of believing until now that this inheritance is definitely and rightfully mine, but not because of me. When I come into the full possession of the grand inheritance that You say is mine, it will be Jesus, not me, who is glorified.

Such a mystery this is — the sharing of the life of Jesus Christ. As Warren says, it is not about me, yet as You say, all that Jesus did was because of me and for me, an undeserving and unworthy sinner. I stand amazed in Your presence and am humbled by Your incredible and mysterious ways.

No condemnation

When I was a child and someone gave me some paper money, I often put it inside a book. Because I read and reread favorites, I knew I would find it again.

This habit illustrates what it means to be “in Christ.” Like that one or five dollar bill was hidden in the book, I am hidden in Jesus Christ. Where He goes, I go and where I go, He is there. We are united. The big difference is that when I found my money, I usually took it out and spent it. But no one can remove me from my secure place in Jesus. As He once said, “No one can pluck them from my Father’s hand.”

After years of studying the Bible and knowing this assurance, it still blesses my heart to hear it again. This morning I read Romans 8:1-2.

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

Condemnation is a judicial term and the opposite of justification. It is about a verdict of guilty and the penalty that such a verdict demands. In the court of Almighty God, the law says that the soul that sins shall die.

However, no sin I can commit, either past, present or future, can be held against me. The penalty was paid by Jesus Christ on the Cross, and His righteousness was imputed to me. Nothing I can do will ever reverse this divine legal decision. Jesus died for me and because of that and because I am in Him, I am set free from that spiritual law of “you sin, you die.”

When I was a child, I often forgot that I hid my money. Later, finding it again was a delightful surprise. Today, even though I never forget that I am secure in Christ, being reminded again fills me with a much greater sense of delight and joy than finding money. God says “no condemnation” and this is a grand and glorious reality for those who know and believe in Him!

He’s the hand—I’m only a glove

The teacher of a quilt design class asked us to do something I’ve never done before with any artwork—she had us formulate a purpose statement for the piece we designed. She called it a concept. She wanted us to think through why we were making it and what we wanted it to do for the people who looked at it. She said the difference between a regular piece of art (quilt or otherwise) and art that begins with a concept is how long the viewer stands in front of the piece. She suggested that a well-thought out and well-executed concept could make a greater impact than we could imagine.

I think of purpose statements each week when I write Bible study material for my Sunday class. Without one, the study and discussion could go all over the map and never come to any conclusions or even raise important questions. It helps me and the class stay focused.

Purpose statements are vital for Christians who want to make an impact for Christ on this world. While some might confuse their purpose with a profession or some sort of calling into a ministry, I don’t think this is the intent. A purpose statement is broader than being a pastor or going to Timbuktu to reach its natives.

Once, because my spiritual gift is teaching, I’d formulated a purpose statement in line with that: to learn all I can about God and His kingdom and teach others what God has taught me. I figured that I could do that in any setting, at least as long as I can read the Bible and speak! However, the speaker at last fall’s InScribe Christian Writers’ Conference challenged me. She said the Bible offers no other calling that we must love God and do what He says. I could be writing (or teaching) today, but tomorrow God could ask me to do something else.

While I’ve given my teaching its own purpose statement, I now have a broader statement for all of life based on God’s purpose for me. He wants me to become increasingly like His Son, Jesus Christ. Romans 8:28-29 and 1 John 3:1-3 make this clear. Another way to say it is that He wants me to be a “partaker of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4).

Partaking in the nature of Christ is the same as living the way He lives. My likes, wants and goals are abandoned for Christ’s likes, wants and goals. No matter what I am doing, He wants me to see things the way He sees them. This is so much a part of Christian living that my devotional guide says that if a person does not display something that is like Jesus, no matter how loud his profession of faith, he is not yet a partaker of the divine nature. Christianity is not measured by words or even deeds, but by Jesus Christ. If I am not like Him, it doesn’t matter what I say or do.

The question is how? How can a person who is used to living according to their own desires and goals change that drastically? Believe me, no one can without the power of the Holy Spirit at work in them. This is definitely a God-thing.

Yet I have a part in it. I need to cease from my own efforts and by faith let Christ work in me “to will and to do of His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). When I abandon my own wants and goals and leave myself in His hands, He actually keeps His promises and begins to motivate me with His wants and goals.

This is astounding. I cannot count the times that I have tried and tried to do what I thought God wanted me to do, yet failed and failed, and finally dropped all self-effort only to discover that Jesus was waiting for just that. When I put off that fleshy old nature (even though I seemed to have good intentions) and abandoned all my wants and efforts to Him, He became my life. My thoughts, words and actions changed. More often than not, that good thing that I really wanted to do suddenly was happening, but I knew it was not from my striving. Living in the power of Christ’s nature is utterly different from struggling in my own power.

The Bible says things like: “Put off the old man” and “put on the new man” (Colossians 3:9–10). It says I must reckon myself “dead unto sin and alive unto God” (Romans 6:11). These and other passages describe this idea of dropping my efforts, my own works, and realizing that even my daily life is all about Christ living in me. This is not about a ministry only, or a role only, or a ‘calling’ of some kind, but about learning how to love God and obey Him no matter what I am doing. Having that as a purpose statement has helped me to realize that the only way I can love and obey Him is to let my Savior, who lives in me, do it for me.

Earthen vessels, indeed!

Today I go to a building to worship God, but am reminded again that God does not need a building. In 1 Kings 8:27, Solomon prayed, “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built!”

Why then do we have them? My devotional reading says that the building, beginning with the tabernacle in the wilderness, was not for God but for sinners. When sin separated Adam and Eve from God, their immediate access came to an end. He didn’t want that so mercifully covered their sin with tunics of animal skins, a shadow of the sacrificial system to be established. The death of animals to take their place pointed to Christ, the ultimate sacrificial substitute who would die for the sins of the whole world.

After they were put out of God’s presence in Eden, God eventually added more elements to enable His people to have this mediated access to Him. He introduced a meeting place and human mediators—a tabernacle and priests.

The tent or tabernacle in the wilderness was not for God either. God is everywhere and does not need a place to live, but because of sin, humanity has lost that sense of Him. They gained forgiveness through faith that He accepted their sacrifices, but they still needed to know that He was with them.

In great mercy and love, God took the initiative to meet with them in a special way. He chose a tent first, then a temple, both built to His specific instructions. By their design elements and the prescribed way of entering and meeting with God, both served as a reminder of the perfections of Eden that they had lost, and a vivid picture that the way back to God was through His provision for their redemption—a substitute must die for their sins. This ritual would be repeated until the ultimate sacrifice, Jesus Christ, offered Himself.

Now those animal sacrifices are no longer necessary, but what about the building? The Jewish temple no longer stands. Does that mean Christian churches are obsolete, not needed?

The New Testament says that the dwelling place of God, meaning again that special place where God meets with His people (He still is everywhere), has changed. 1 Corinthians 6:19 says, “Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God . . . ?”

Christians have a new meeting place. The Bible says He lives in us, makes His Spirit dwell in us. He does not live in everyone, only those who put their faith in Him and in the One who died for our sin.

That special sense of God’s presence is as close to me as He could possibly get. Again, this is not for God. He doesn’t need a place to live, but I need to know His nearness. This is partly for my comfort, but mostly that I might know Him, worship Him in spirit and meet Him in holiness. Without His presence in my life, none of that would be possible.

As for the building, it’s a convenience for the Body of Christ. In the early church, they met in one another’s homes. We still do that, but the size of our homes limits the gathering. Corporate worship needs space and because we live in a country that allows us to freely gather, we have buildings to facilitate that requirement.

The buildings are helpful, yet God still does not need a house. I’m of the opinion that we confuse ourselves by calling a building the house of God. God isn’t confined to church buildings. It seems to me more important to emphasize that He has chosen to live in our hearts.

How is this practical? I’m sure that the sense of God’s presence made a huge difference in the behavior of the Israelites as they entered the tabernacle. I’m sure that walking into the temple, even into the outer courts, made them more aware of the mighty creative and redemptive power of God. These places should also have made them more aware of their shortcomings and their need for Him.

Considering that, how should I respond to the fact that God lives in me? 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 continues, “ . . . and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

The Lord has taken up residence in me. This residence belongs to Him so my choices and even my thoughts should reflect that humbling and awesome reality. Oh, my goodness, I feel totally inadequate, but that’s as it should be. The Bible also says that “We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us.” I don't have to do this by myself!

Two Roots

I have a split personality. Not in the clinical, psychological sense though. A shrink would never diagnose me so, but the Scriptures do. According to God, and in line with my experience, there is the life of a sinful nature, and the life of Christ living in me. Two natures.

One of them is supposed to be dead, but not dead like a critter run flat by a car. In the Bible, dead means separation, and in this case, separation from God. That old sinful nature cannot respond in a positive way to God or trust Him. Instead, it resists all things spiritual, all things right and true. It is dead.

The other life, that of Christ, is responsible for all things good and godly. I cannot claim them apart from acknowledging their source. Apart from Him, I cannot do anything that pleases God. It is Jesus in me that accounts for any goodness, any obedience to the Lord.

It’s not that the old nature isn’t capable of doing things that look good, it’s just that behind every such action is some sort of self-serving motivation. I either want to defend or protect myself, promote myself, or look good, or feel good, or make people think I am good.

It seems logical that someone with two natures would pick the best one to live by. After all, having the Son of God in charge of your life sounds absolutely wonderful. Such grace, such power. I could do all things, be the most irresistible person, heal the sick, move mountains. Why not let Him have total control of my life? It makes sense.

All that reasoning comes from the old nature, because the truth is, living under the control of Christ means I have no control over what He does with me. I can say ‘no’ to it, but I cannot tell Him what comes next. Instead, I have to trust Him and do what He says, without any of my grand and self-serving ideas popping in to shape my words and actions.

Galatians 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ; 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 gave Himself for me.”

I get an odd picture of a tree with two root systems. One goes down into a mud puddle, the other goes into living water. The branches come up out of those two root systems and intertwine at the top, making one tree—me. Sometimes an observer cannot tell which branch comes from which root, but God can. He knows the part that is dead to Him, and the part that is Christ living in me. And He knows how to make one sit down and shut up and the other get to work.

The key word in that verse is faith. It is something like the recruit who hands his life over to his commander officer to be trained and serve in the armed forces. His life is no longer his own. It is something like a servant who gives himself totally to his master. His life is no longer his own. The recruit and the servant may or may not trust the one in authority over them though, and have other reasons for obeying.

Not so with those who have Christ living in them. I must obey because I trust Him. I have no idea what He is going to ask me to do, no idea what will happen next under His control and direction, and certainly no idea of the outcome. I cannot control any of that. It is His decision and under His will.

It seems illogical to have doubts about the will and power of God. He has proven His power and goodness. Why not trust Him? Why not let Him run things? (Truth be known, He does anyway.)

After examining my own heart, and listening to a zillion excuses made by those who don’t, I’ve concluded doubt and resistance isn’t about trust. It is a control thing, a decision about power. The Jews in Jesus day said, “We will not have this man rule over us” and that is the crux of the matter, both for them and for me.

The Bible also says that “it is God who works in you both to will and to do His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). He is able to make me willing when my old nature jumps in to resist Him. He is able to produce in me the ability to carry out His commands. He is able to make that confusing and intertwining tree produce the fruit of the Spirit.

Apart from Him, I could not and would not. So today I am celebrating the reality of Jesus in my life. These past couple weeks side-swiped our family, yet He has and is taking care of us, and His presence keeps the wind of change and the storms of uncertainty from blowing that odd tree over.

Actually, the storm seems to blow just enough to pull and loosen one of the root systems and deepen and strengthen the other. He does know what He is doing.