Identity Defined By Pete Briscoeنموونە

Living your “Now” with the next world in mind.

If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world. —C.S. Lewis

Believers in Jesus live on two planes of existence simultaneously. Don’t worry, I’m not about to go science fiction on you. (Actually, this is even crazier than sci-fi!) The truth is that we live in Christ... and we also live in Dallas/Phoenix/London, or wherever. We are in Christ spiritually, and yet we are in our physical location, living our lives with work, family, and other commitments.

Yeah, it sounds nuts, but the New Testament is full of this dual reality. Consider Paul’s salutation in Colossians 1:1-2.

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ.

Notice the words at the end of this verse. IN Christ IN Colossae. He is saying that they are in Christ, but that they are also in Colossae. How can someone be in both places? Think about what Paul wrote in another letter, 2 Corinthians 4:18:

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

The words “temporary” and “eternal” are key here. The world we live in can be seen; it’s physical and visible, and we interact with it continuously. It’s also temporary. It’s here for a while, but then it will go.

Then there is the invisible world. It is Christ and all that comes with Him. He is our purpose for being, the reason we go about things in the physical world.

We like to compartmentalize and sort things. That’s why label makers and organizing software sell well. (Unfortunately, it’s also why Christians tend to think they can do church on Sundays, head to lunch, and that was their Jesus fix for the week!)

We can’t compartmentalize the eternal and the temporary. The two are interchangeable for believers. We live in both right now! And if we’re paying attention to the eternal, our temporary life will show it.

Jesus, thank You for putting eternity into my heart. Thank You for the timeless perspective You give me. Help me, Holy Spirit, to know and understand that I have a temporary life and an eternal life. Help me live in such a way that my temporary life points to Your eternal work! Amen.

Reflection:

1. Do I base my identity on the things of this temporary world or in Christ eternal?

2. Am I more concerned with who I am rather than Who's in me?

3. How can I live now with eternal life in mind?

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