The Key to the Christian Life by Jan Loyd
In this post, Jan refutes the notion that our spiritual life is made up of the things we do, especially the things we do to gain the favor of God.
Christianity is a PERSON, not a procedure.
The LORD, not a list!
• Not church attendance, not Christ-like qualities, not good works, not the Christian "to-do list" (which may vary depending on the group and "camp" you are in)
• Not evangelism, not mission trips, not a quality "quiet time," not Scripture memorization or Bible study
• Not spiritual disciplines, not prayer, not fasting, not obedience, not miracle-working faith
• Not ______________________ (you fill in the blank with your favorite supposed "godliness-producing external" activity)
In other words, not my desperate trying by my own efforts to be and do and get God to love me more.
No!
The LORD JESUS CHRIST, the Son of God! The Lord Jesus...HE is the Christian life. In fact, He is the key to Everything!
And it's not just what He's done for us, as total and complete as that is. No, it's His very Person. He is our Life!
Christ died for us, so that He could give His life to us, so that He could live in us and through us... as us, not as some illustrious Christian we admire, not as some super-person.
He lives in us to live the "Christian life" through us. That's because He's the only one able to live it.
He is God's AMEN and total sum of all things!
And the amazing thing is, He lives in me! And He lives in you too, O child of God, through faith in this glorious Son of God!
...God has chosen to make known...the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27 NIV).
The Mystery, the Treasure who indwells us by faith in His Stellar Self, is none other than our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
...the glory of God... is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves (2 Corinthians 4:6-7 NLT).
Our Lord Jesus is the Father's All in All. And He will live through us as us as we let Him.
May we begin to see those spiritual activities, that we think are the Christian life, fall into the right perspective in light of all that HE is...EVERYTHING and anything we will ever need!
For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. So you also are complete [full] through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority (Colossians 2:9-10 NLT).
May this become our equation for life:
JESUS + nothing = Everything
Jan Loyd and her husband John are members of Patterson Park. John is a deacon. Jan has taught in our women’s Bible studies, and her book The With-ness of God is available on our Discipleship Recourse Shelf outside the Family Life Center.
Persevere,
Paul Pyle
Pastor of Discipleship
