Romans 8: 31 NKJV
If you're like me, you've spent a lifetime dealing with what those around you have said about you. You know them, they're the ones who talk behind your back about if they were you that they would most certainly do things different than you...blah blah blah. Up until recently, people like this used to affect the way I thought about myself. It's kind of hard not to when you spend a good part of your day listening to others tell you that you're someone you're not. Look at how many people tried their best to tell Jesus that He was not who He claimed He was. How can a sinful man be a Son of God? The very idea of such a thing can be seen as blasphemy. Despite the wonders and miracles which Jesus performed, there were those around Him who said that He must be a agent of satan. How else could He have performed such miracles? How else indeed. Yet, in my heart I know that the man Jesus IS who He claimed that He is. Despite all of the negative things that others said about Him, He is the risen Lord. I once knew a man who knew I was a christian and took every opportunity to mock me for my choice. He once asked me how I could follow a liar and magician. This bothered me at first until I realized that what he was trying to do was get a reaction out of me in defense of what I believed. Well, imagine my own reaction when I noticed this same man walk into church with his wife one sunday morning. Did I mock him for his choice? No, I welcomed him into fellowship. I never did ask him just what convinced him to walk into a church, but I'm assuming his wife had something to do with that. whatever it took, it seems that another child was welcomed back into the Lords family. My point here is, we never know what life those who criticize us live. Sure, we see the negative side, but rarely do we see the real man unless they open up to us. It's the same with you and me, rarely will anyone know who we truly are unless we take the time to proclaim it. Well, I already know who it is that I am, thank you.
4He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. 6He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.
1 John 2: 4 - 6 NKJV
Trust me, Jesus knew exactly the man that He was. Despite all of the chatter that was going on around Him, He never forgot who He was. Neither should we. Who is that we really are? Of course, we're told exactly what our identity is by some pretty reliable sources. The apostle Paul, for example, tells us that we...are Christ Jesus Himself. That is, the Spirit of Christ dwells within those who trust in Him {Galations 2:20}. If you find this hard to comprehend, then you're in good company. I've spent a good few years in a group of Godly men who, at times, have had their own struggles with realizing who it is that we truly are. I had those very same struggles when I first came to the knowledge of the truth of Christ. How could Jesus ever come to abide in a sinner like me? Well, He didn't. See, Jesus made sure that the way was clear before He made His home in me. The slate needed to be wiped clean. That old man I once was needed to be put away for good. After that, he would no longer define who it is that I was. So it was that, through Christ Jesus, that old man was put to death that he would no longer be an issue {Romans 6:6}. After that, Jesus was free to unite His own Spirit with mine. Therefore, I have no issues with proclaiming that I, Scott, am the indwelling Christ. I am no longer a sinner, the finished work of Jesus has guaranteed that. Am I a failure? Was the man Jesus a failure? All that I now hear from others about the kind of person I am I must weigh against that filter of who in my heart I know that I am. The lowliest man we know could himself have the revelation of Christ in him. Is that man still a lowly individual? Absolutely not! I see this as a warning to gossips everywhere, be careful of who you talk about. You just never know when you'll be gossiping about Christ Himself.
~Scott~
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