The Enough-ness of the Indwelling Christ
/For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,
and you have been filled in him,
who is the head of all rule and authority
Colossians 2:9-10
We live under the illusion that a mature person is supposed to be enough to do life on this earth. And then the longer we live, we begin to realize that we are not enough. Life on this fallen planet is too much for us, no matter how mature we are … or self-sufficient.
It is so freeing to give up trying to be our own god in life and the lives of others.
Enjoy another meditation from Penny’s and my upcoming book Glory in Disguise: Seeing God in our Every Day. And walk in freedom because HE is the Key to life…and enough-ness in and through us.
DIY: Living in Christ as Life
…your real life is hidden with Christ in God.
And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world,
you will share in all his glory.
Colossians 3:3b-4 NLT
We are such a “Do It Yourself” society. DIY projects with instructions abound on the Internet. Some are very useful, like baking your own bread and organizing a closet. Some can be quite time consuming, like scrapbooking and renovating a bedroom. And others can be downright frustrating, like losing weight or styling your own hair. So it seems we are always looking for the key, the formula, the hint that will make us go, “Aha!”
This is also true for our spiritual life. We are always thinking the latest Christian “best seller,” the current popular discipleship program, the “hottest” Christian speaker or author will have the answer. They will have the key to all our struggles and frustrations in living the Christian life.
Well, sisters and brothers, I have good news. I have the key to the Christian life. And you do too. Because Christianity is a Person, not a procedure; the Lord, not a list. Not church attendance, not Christ-like qualities, not good works, not the Christian "to-do list" (which may vary depending on the group and "camp" you are in).
Not evangelism, not mission trips, not a quality "quiet time," not Scripture memorization or Bible study. Not spiritual disciplines, not prayer, not fasting, not obedience, not miracle-working faith. Not ______________________ (you fill in the blank with your favorite supposed "godliness-producing external" activity).
In other words, not our desperate trying by our own efforts to be and do and get God to love us more. No.
The LORD JESUS CHRIST, the Son of God. The Lord Jesus...HE is the Christian life.
In fact, He is the key to everything. And it's not just what He's done for us, as total and complete as that is. No, it's His very Person. He is our very Life.
Christ died for us,
so that He could give His life to us,
so that He could live His life in us and through us...
as us, not as some illustrious Christian we admire, not as some super-person.
He lives in us to live the "Christian life" through us. That's because He's the only one able to live it. He is God's Amen and total sum of all things. And the amazing thing is, He lives in me. And He lives in you too, O child of God, through faith in this glorious Son of God.
...God has chosen to make known...the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Colossians 1:27 NIV
The Treasure who indwells us by faith in His Stellar Self is none other than our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
...the glory of God…is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.
2 Corinthians 4:6-7 NLT
Our Lord Jesus is the Father's All in All. And He will live through us, as us, as we let Him -- as we in faith depend on Him.
May we begin to see those spiritual activities, that we think are the Christian life, fall into perspective (and some may even fall away) in light of all that He is -- everything and anything we will ever need.
For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. So you also are complete [full] through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.
Colossians 2:9-10 NLT
May this become our equation for life: JESUS + nothing = Everything
True Life’s Key
How is it that I’ll ever be free
Of my self-conscious search
For who I should be?
How will I ever find true liberty
With my fear of the future
And what it might be?
But I know The One
Who holds true life’s key
For the Risen Christ has paid my fee,
For my past, present & future reality.
It’s His life He’s living
Through me as me!
Penny Mandeville
Prayer
Lord, You know how I’ve spent so much of my life as a believer searching for what I already have – the Key to not only the Christian Life but to all of life. Thank You for your forgiveness and Your indwelling Presence that was there all along. Teach me to live in total dependence on You Who lives in me and through me as I let You.
Live, love, and serve through me today, for your honor and glory and for your purpose on this earth. In Your name. Amen.
Reflections
1. List the “formulas, steps, programs” you have gone through during your time as a believer.
What Bible studies have you done, in person or online? Thank the Lord for what you learned through each of those.
2. Were there any that you did out of an attitude of trying to earn something with God or because “that’s what good Christians do” — performance based?
Thank Him for His already-forgiveness for any “God substitutes.” Embrace afresh the simplicity that is Christ.
3. Read the Gospel of John this week and make note of the descriptions of your Jesus that grab hold of your mind and heart. Bask in Him Who is your Everything, your very Life.
4. I love this verse. It has become a reminder for me:
But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
2 Corinthians 11:3 NKJV (emphasis added)
The Lord brought this beautiful song to mind today. Why not just close your eyes and enter into the enough-ness of your Christ as you listen:
