Abiding in Christنموونە
Gal 2:20
We talk a lot about coming to Jesus - coming to the point of putting our trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins - but what does it look like to now live as a Christian once we’re saved?
Is the way of Jesus about behaving for God? About working hard to show God how much we love Him? About being so perfect so that we look great in His trophy cabinet?
These things look good at first, but surely the life of a Christian is about more than just trying to be good for God.
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me”
Gal 2:20a
Paul teaches us that the life of a Christian is actually the life of Jesus … here, now, in you. This is an incredibly radical idea. This means that the perfect character of Jesus is available to you, here, today, enabling you to live a life that you were previously unable to live.
“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.”
Ga 2:20b
Jesus didn’t come, live, and die to set you free, only to leave you unequipped to change. At Pentecost, the Spirit of God came to indwell all believers to allow the life of Jesus to transform every heart. This is like a computer getting an entirely new ‘operating system’. At the cross, it was Jesus’ death that set us free from sin, but today it is this life of Jesus that changes us from the inside out.
- Gas in the car
- Electricity in the lightbulb
- Hand in the glove
- Christ in the Christian
The life of a Christian ought to be the most delightful, the freest, and the most fun, simply because Jesus is our life.
Do you feel like, each day, you are struggling to beat yourself into the image of Jesus? Or are you allowing Jesus to freely transform you into the image of Himself from the inside out?
Prayer
Lord, I am sorry for trying to be a Christian without Christ. I realize that there are things in my life that can only be restored by you, so I hand them over to you now. Thank you for dying for me and thank you for living in me.
Amen
Scripture
About this Plan
Abiding In Christ is a mystery to many Christians even though it is a central theme throughout the Bible. We struggle to understand our relationship to the indwelling life of Jesus and His role in our lives. This 5-Day Bible Reading Plan walks through 5 key passages that teach us about the nature of what it means to Abide In Christ.
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