You have heard the good news of Easter: Jesus is risen. And you have heard of the general resurrection of the dead in the future. What’s going on between the resurrection of Jesus and the promised resurrection of all? This is no time of zero activity! God is active and at work in us. Christ is resurrecting his children every single day.

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. You’re deeply rooted in him. You’re well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving. (Col.2: 6-7, MSG)

When you have received the gift of grace apply it into your life. Invite the Holy Spirit to abide in you and show you how to live like a free child of God. Ask Christ to open your eyes to see like him, feel like him, and live like him.

Watch out for people who try to dazzle you with big words and intellectual double-talk. They want to drag you off into endless arguments that never amount to anything. They spread their ideas through the empty traditions of human beings and the empty superstitions of spirit beings. But that’s not the way of Christ. Everything of God gets expressed in him, so you can see and hear him clearly. You don’t need a telescope, a microscope, or a horoscope to realize the fullness of Christ, and the emptiness of the universe without him. When you come to him, that fullness comes together for you, too. His power extends over everything. (Col. 2: 8-10; MSG)

C.S. Lewis explains well what living in Christ means: “When Christians say the Christ-life is in them, they do not mean simply something mental or moral. When they speak of being “in Christ” or of Christ being “in them,” this is not simply a way of saying that they are thinking about Christ or copying Him. They mean that Christ is actually operating through them.”

When Christ lives in us, we are living for Christ.
When we live in grace, we are participating in God’s plan for our lives by God’s grace.
When the Holy Spirit moves in us, we are living God’s words in our lives.

 

Gracious God,
We are in awe of your grace.
Thank you for living in us.
Empower us to act like we believe.
Enable us to participate in your plan for our lives.
Equip us to extend your grace to others.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen

Q4U: What has God called you to do?

Be blessed, my fellow pilgrim, as you live God’s words in your life!

Photo courtesy of Matt Gruber