By Faith

1Now faith is the asubstance of things hoped for, the bevidence of things not seen. 2For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. 3By faith we understand that the cworlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.
Hebrews 11: 1 - 3 NKJV

We've spent a fair amount of time in our group learning about Christ Jesus in us.  In fact, it's become pretty much of a common lesson plan.  Now, most people would cringe at the thought of Jesus dwelling in sinful man, but it depends on what you believe...what it is you trust in.  For me, I trust in the fact that I've died to that old man I once was and have now become one with Christ.  Others will, and have, rolled their eyes in disagreement with me.  It can be a hard concept to grasp, I get it.  There are times that the very things which we hold dear can be that roadblock to something God wants us to know.  I came from a place where I thought I knew who Jesus was, boy was I wrong.  Don't get me wrong, that cookie cutter christian view of Christ isn't wrong, it's just that there is so much more to knowing the man Jesus.  I wanted more than to just "be more christlike."  Well, it turns out that I already was one with my Savior and just didn't know it.  Like I said, traditional christian teachings often get in the way of knowing Christ.  For instance, Jesus isn't simply sitting in heaven waiting for me to be more like Him.  No, for it is Jesus who dwells in me {Galations 2:20}.  Yes, it took me awhile to grasp that concept, but once I came to know who Jesus really was, my understanding of Him grew as well. 

9But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 10And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
Romans 8: 9 - 11 NKJV

There is but one constant in this equation, and that is if we truly want to know Jesus we must believe that He is real.  I could not discover the truth of Christ for myself if I did not know in my heart that He was real.  That's the thing with having faith, knowing in your heart that what you trust in is true.  If I stand under a tree, I trust that something could fall from that tree and hit me.  If I jump off a thirty story building, I trust that I'm headed for a fall...literally.  So, what is it that you believe about Jesus?  He died, rose again and ascended into heaven.  Yeah, yeah, I get that cookie cutter christian narrative.  That is the story of Jesus I've heard all of my life.  One question that always stuck with me was, if God loved me enough to save me, why would He make it so difficult to come to know my Savior?  Think of the hoops one needs to go through to even come to know Jesus.  Repent of the sins which Jesus has already addressed {Romans 6:11}.  Live a good, mistake free life.  Do all of this then maybe, just maybe you too can be close to Jesus.  Well, I'm here to tell you that this narrative of knowing Christ is nothing but a hamster wheel from which you will never come any closer to Jesus.  In your way will be the guilt of unresolved sin and the hurt of feeling seperated from Him.  Well, that's bunk.  It is Jesus who lives through us today.  It is Christ Jesus who has dealt the final blow to our sin issue. All that remains is for you to know in your heart who Jesus truly is.  That...is true faith.

~Scott~