Alive!
Yesterday, one of my students connected with me on Facebook. He had several things on his mind he wanted to discuss. However, no matter what I said to him there would be no profit unless he could see his circumstances under a different lens, that lens being through the cross of Christ. So we discussed what Jesus did for us when He died on the cross. John clearly describes life in a different way understood to our flesh. For the flesh, life is marked by the ability to respond to outside stimuli. If I couldn’t respond to the presence of air in my environment, I would be considered dead. The life John speaks of is not of this same identification. It is of the identification with Jesus who brings us back into right relationship with God our father.
I was pronounced dead when Adam ate from the tree. No longer was it possible for mankind to reproduce and not be affected by the new nature that was born in us on that day. All of man was sentenced to death, represented by the expulsion from the Garden of Eden which is symbolic of the presence of God. Jesus came to restore the life which was lost in the Garden of Eden. He came to bring us back into the presence of God. Contrary, death is the experience of broken relationship or fellowship with God. I was dead because the penalty of my disobedience is death. I know this because He told Adam that he shall surly die if he ate from the tree. God is a righteous judge who could not just overlook the laws I had broken. By his very nature, He had to sentence me to death because I broke His law. Jesus came and sacrificed himself and served my sentence so I wouldn’t have to. Then He rose defeating the power of death ascribing life to those who believe in his Testimony. I am alive by Christ, in Christ, and through Christ.
Dad, you are life itself. Life is defined as your presence. I don’t want to be anywhere else. You are a perfect God willing to go the mile with me that I may believe you are who you say you are. Daily, please purpose to reveal yourself to me that I may increase in faith. I want to see you work in miraculous ways Lord. Help me to let go of the unnecessary that I may know you in greater ways. May my life be a living testimony of your glory. Amen!
Created about 2 years ago
