Thursday, May 1, 2014

Live Christ until you have him (Colossians 2:6)

SCRIPTURE: Colossians 2:6 (TM) - larger reading Colossians 2:6-15
My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you've been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him.

STORY:
On the Oprah Show she had as her special guests several of the test tube babies who had come of age. These children had no identity apart from a mother and were in a constant search for, not only there father, but for other siblings. They admitted with tears that there is a huge void inside that needs so desperately to be satisfied and they are willing to use all their energies to seek the truth.
These young people were consumed with the hope of learning their true identities.

One teenage child only knew he was from test tube #46.

One mother, when asked by her child –where their father was, explained that another man, who already had a family, was loving enough to donate and that made the child a “love child.”

OBSERVATION:
Living for Jesus, a life that is true,
Striving to please Him in all that I do;
Yielding allegiance, glad hearted and free,
This is the pathway of blessing for me.

O Jesus, Lord and Savior, I give myself to Thee,
For Thou, in Thy atonement, didst give Thyself for me.
I own no other Master, my heart shall be Thy throne.
My life I give, henceforth to live, O Christ, for Thee alone.

We are the love child of the Heavenly Father. There is a cross marking the place of our birth. Where these young men and women on the Oprah show look towards a “test tube” we look to an empty tomb. We need to look no further than the reality that “because He lives we can face tomorrow…”

And yet, we hesitate. We stop living because of a few questions that we have. We wander through life as if we have no purpose. “Why am I here?” we ask too often.

Okay, I get it – there are questions… we all have questions. While each of us struggle with the “why am I here” issues of our life we shouldn’t stop living. Paul states in his letter that we should just “live him” – don’t look back, don’t wonder why, don’t question – just live. Issues usually get solved just in the living through the issues. 

Wasn’t it John Wesley who offered this advice: “Preach Christ until you have it and then preach Christ because you have it.” Well, that advice can apply to all of us – live Christ as if you have him and then live Christ because you have him.

O Jesus, Lord and Savior, I give myself to Thee,
For Thou, in Thy atonement, didst give Thyself for me.
I own no other Master, my heart shall be Thy throne.
My life I give, henceforth to live, O Christ, for Thee alone.

PRAYER:

Help us to live with confidence. Help us move forward with a living faith.

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