The Life of a Christian
“You were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.” Ephesians 2:1-2
Have you heard a person saying they can’t be a Christian while they are still struggling with certain un-Christlike behaviors? This self-condemning statement communicates the assumption that Christians are “good” people, born that way and never sinned. This is not only far from the truth, but it also gives birth to another view, that Christians are hypocrites ,which comes after observing that actually these are normal people. This could be at least true if any follower of Christ would claim perfection or that they have no sin. Such a person does not need a Savoir, because what do you need a Savior for when you’re already sinless? But the bible teaches us that we are all helpless and in desperate need of One, because if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us (1John 1:8).
However, we do not stay in sin, we wrestle with it. Prior we used to not grieve our sinfulness, due to the hardness of our hearts and because there was nothing beckoning us higher, but that is not how we are to be identified, not after being made alive with Christ. And no one can boast because this was not our doing, remember we were dead in our transgressions and so helpless, what we did and enjoyed doing was to gratify the cravings of our sinful nature, indulging in our hearts’ desires and thoughts, and there, my friend, nothing holy comes out. “For it is from within, out of peoples’ hearts, come- evil thoughts, sexual immoralities, theft, murders, adulteries, greed, evil actions, deceit, self-indulgence, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness.” (Mark 7:21-22) and so in turn the holy God is not indifferent with sin, He must judge- and you and I were by nature, objects of His wrath (Ephesians 2:3). But He, in His kindness, saved us from His wrath to Himself.
God has never said he was saving “good people” because let’s face it, none of us would stand a chance. Perusing scripture, we have seen God using imperfect people to bring glory to himself and none of these people can claim perfection, a friend recently put it “The bible is not shy in showing us the failures of God’s kings. King Solomon was wise, but not wise enough to turn away from idolatry and self-glorification. King David had knowledge and fear of the LORD, but his knowledge and fear of the LORD did not turn him away from adultery and murder. King Hezekiah’s faith did not result in the wisdom and understanding that guarded him from arrogantly displaying his power before a foreign king” What does this tell us? No one (apart from Jesus) is righteous, not even one (Rom 3:10) and we will only ever be as perfect as Christ when he appears (1 John 3:2).
What do we do now?
God did not just save us, so we are safe from hell, but He saved us back into relationship with Him. Not to state the obvious here but first of all, if you are in a relationship with someone, you want to keep communicating with them, finding out what they like because truth is, there will never be a time where we are so full of knowledge of that person that there’s no more room for more discoveries, so we are forever in pursuit of ways to know them which will inform how we will love and serve them… and we can’t expect that relationship to thrive if we are not willing to bend our actions and wills to theirs, as far as truth and wisdom allows.
This is even truer for a person in relationship with God. Our lives, personally and communally, must be tailored with scripture reading, infused with prayer, and adorned with service. We read scripture so that we get to grow in our knowledge of God, we pray because this is the only way to speak to him and we are thankful he even made a way for us to approach his throne of grace with confidence (Hebrew 4:16), and we serve him because we love him so much we want to give our lives as a living sacrifice (Rom 12:1), his Word commands it and so we already know it’s his will. The world, and all it has to offer, should not take utmost priority in our lives because we know this is not all there is. All creation was meant to point us to the Creator, so in our enjoyment of it, we should not lose sight of the bigger picture, we are eagerly waiting for our Lord and Savior Jesus, to return or call us home.
This is certainly not laidback waiting, watching sunrise and sunsets, commenting on the weather, scrolling aimlessly on socials because we happen to have too much time in our hands. No friend, there is a lot to do, as we dig deep into the Word of God, it won’t be long until we see the change in the attitude of our hearts. As we consciously wait for the coming of the Kingdom of God as our prayers suggest, we will start seeing the fruits of the Spirit in our lives, love, faithfulness, self-control, to name a few. It’s this love that will stir our passions from being laidback to wanting to serve, love for Christ and therefore love for others, it’s this faithfulness that will make us be consistent in prayer and in our word, the very self-control that will make us be above reproach, the lack of these in our lives or around us should help our wondering hearts grasp the urgency of the gospel, first to live it out and second to preach it.
If we live by the Spirit, we will keep in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:22), and soon we will realize again, that our faith should not only benefit us, but others as well, our fruit will make other people taste and see that the LORD is good (Psalm 34:8) as we joyfully and expectantly brag about the One who has changed our lives but mostly our eternity. So, we live our lives in view of the future right now, not waiting for confetti to fall before we live full lives to the glory of the One who called us into relationship. If you truly love something, that’s all you want to talk about, and talking about the saving power of the gospel is the most loving thing you can do for others. This is not as hard as you have probably made it in your head, because God is already doing his saving work and is inviting you to be part of it. Are you going to accept the invite?
invitation?
C.S. Lewis rightly noted that promising a child in a slum a holiday at the beach, which they’ve never seen, might sound far-fetched. They might prefer to keep making mud pies than take you at your word. That is us when we refuse to believe in the beauty we are saved to enjoy forever. But unlike us, God, in His kindness and wisdom, gives us glimpses of this destination. He gives us grace each morning to grasp these truths through Scripture. Unlike a helpless child in a slum, God has put eternity in our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11). The Holy Spirit guides us into all truth, taking what Jesus has and declaring it to us (John 16:13-14).
After we have fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept the faith, our crown of glory awaits beyond the grave (2 Timothy 4:7-8). While the good gifts God gives sustain us, they are tainted with sin. Sometimes suffering dominates our lives, driving us to pray, “Come, Lord Jesus.” This is what suffering should do in a believer’s heart—beckon us toward the better world we are called to.
Paul writes, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18). John reminds us that all things will be made new. God will wipe away every tear; there will be no mourning, crying, or pain anymore (Revelation 21:3-4).While we wait for this, let us remember that with all that will pass away, so will the chance to share the gospel with the lost. We do not know the day or the hour (Matthew 24:36). Let us not deceive ourselves into thinking we have time. Who knows if our souls will be demanded of us this very evening?
