"When Christ, WHO IS OUR LIFE, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory."
Isn't that amazing to think about?? Christ is my life.
I often hear people say, "Basketball is my life" or "Music is my life." Basketball and music are both lovely things - I'm not saying in any way that we shouldn't participate in them. I've done both and love them! But what would it look like if every Christian could honestly say, "Christ is my life"? How would the world be changed if each of us was wholly consumed by one goal, one passion?
Our life is like a sentence.
If our lives could be portrayed by one sentence, what would your sentence be?
Read the following Christian “life sentences,” and see if you can assimilate a clear view of the person being described.
“I love God, my boyfriend is cute, and volleyball is my favorite!”
“Football is great, I want to be rich, and I go to church twice a week.”
Are you confused? Unsure? Misguided?
Now read the following example:
“I love the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Here is power! Here is clarity! We have a crystal clear perception of this person’s life. There is no room for any extra goals. One theme comes clearly into focus.
Listen to Paul’s life sentence: “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Phil 1:21) His life was Christ. Nothing more.
Let each believer realize that when we accept Christ, we die to our own life. Every previous goal, every former ambition, goes to the grave. A divided life is also an ineffective life that screams out opposite messages to its “readers.” Christ does not ask to be tacked on to the end of our life sentence. He asks to be our life sentence.
Romans 6:4 – “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”
Galatians 2:20 – “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
Colossians 3:1-4 – “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above…Set your affection on things above, and not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory.”
If a Christian finds that his life goals are divided – that more than one focus claims his heart – it is time for him to do some editing! He must write out his life sentence, and then study it to identify his purposes and goals. There will be activities that he will need to drop from his calendar, much like words that simply do not need to be written. He must remove the unneeded extras that would distract from the main focus of his life.
I love my Lord, because He is my life.
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