This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. (1 John 4:9, NIV)
We’ve come to the end of our series on many of the things we have gained through Christ. And yet perhaps this is where we should have begun. Like playing a nine-hole course twice through, there is a sense of familiarity when we return to the first tee.
In Christ, we have life. Through Christ, we live. And when we understand what this life is like, we recognize in it that we are at peace with God (reconciled), know his ways (understanding), and grow in our faith (belief). We possess a confidence beyond our brashness, a comfort beyond our sentiment, and a strength that has nothing to do with muscle or moxie. Finally, despite all our sin and suffering, we can anticipate crossing the finish line of life victorious in Christ.
Maybe you have never been able to outline so clearly what is different when you live through Christ. You know that Jesus declared he had come to give us life and life “to the full” (John 10:10, which some translators render with the word abundantly). But before now, you’ve thought of this in general terms: deeper, richer, more spiritual. Life, though, is not lived in general terms. It comes at us in waves of appointments and tasks and emergencies. The demands of details never thrilled anyone, but at least we can see them and do them.
In Christ, we may still cuss and cry, as the “old man” is wont to do, but we have no despair, for we know that we are heard.Life in Christ is not some “higher thing.” Instead it is a matter of living through the specifics of the day, as we wash our face, wash the clothes, wash the car (maybe even as we wash the dirt off our much-used 7-iron!). It’s as easy to crush our thumb beneath the wayward blow of a hammer as it is to crash our new Mercedes into an unforeseen obstacle. These things happen in the moment, each one bringing pain and staring us down for a response.
What do we do when life comes at us this way, be it in splinters or slashes? Apart from Christ, we may cuss and cry and despair. In Christ, we may still cuss and cry, as the “old man” is wont to do, but we have no despair, for we know that we are heard. We know that peace can be ours, coming as quickly as what hurts us. We know that our God—the God of all mercy, love, and grace—knows us, and he will enter into this wretched hour, redeeming it for a purpose we could not imagine. His comfort wraps us and we find confident strength to walk again. This is a life we can find nowhere else, in no one else. It is the life we are given in Christ, our Savior.
—
Jeff Hopper
March 5, 2021
Copyright 2021 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
OTHER DEVOTIONS IN THIS SERIES
All We Have Gained 1: Reconciliation
All We Have Gained 2: Understanding
All We Have Gained 3: Belief
All We Have Gained 4: Confidence
All We Have Gained 5: Comfort
All We Have Gained 6: Strength
All We Have Gained 7: Conquerors