Jesus Christ is in You
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2 Corinthians 13:4-5,11-12
4. For indeed He was crucified because of weakness, yet He lives because of the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, yet we shall live with Him because of the power of God [directed] toward you. 5. Test yourselves [to see] if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you-- unless indeed you fail the test? 11. Finally, brethren, rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you. 12. Greet one another with a holy kiss.
This whole Christianity thing is really a study in opposites, isn’t it? I mean, think about it: The all-powerful, omnipotent, omniscient creator of the universe came to earth in human form. That just doesn’t seem to make sense. Not only that, He allowed Himself to be conceived and grow from an embryonic state, and to be born like every other human baby. Perhaps because it is so implausible, that some cannot believe it. Some people need to see the logic and the reason behind events in order for them to make sense to them. And this is one of those situations for which there can only be one explanation. And even more confounding: it can’t be proven statistically, or through a blind study, or any other research method – it’s a matter of the heart!
I guess I should say it is a matter of the hearts – plural. God’s heart is what made it happen. He loves us, his divine creations so much he just had to walk among us. I wonder sometimes if he longed to feel the touch of humans, to see through our eyes, to love and laugh and cry as a human being. Is it possible He was lonely? I guess that’s probably considered blasphemy to some – or just a crazy question to others! And besides – I digress from my point. Our hearts, open and willing to receive the gift of God’s grace is the other part of the whole.
We are indeed weak – our bodies aren’t made to last much beyond 80 or 90 or 100 years. But we rejoice because another existence awaits us – won for us on the Cross. And that life will last into eternity! Wow. Isn’t that a remarkable thought! Christ rose again because He was God/God’s son—God in human form, who transcended fleshly existence by rising in the Spirit. Oh my, one could go round and round on this. The bottom line, the only truth, the important thing is that God loves us so much that He sent Christ to die for us. And when Christ rose, He became a new creature, so we could become new creatures through Him.
Paul is admonishing us to keep a check on our attitude, our behavior, our words. Are we living as if Christ were within us, as if we are indeed part of the body of Christ? If we’re not, we need to change our ways. And if others are not, we need to lovingly remind them of how Christians are to live. Of course, we need to be careful with that! We are to be comforting, like-minded, peace loving – and somehow balance all that with living in community with others. The only way we can successfully accomplish that is through Christ. When we all claim Christ as our Savior, the rest seems to fall into place.
So I guess what all this means is that in Christ, all questions become irrelevant – the why’s and the how’s – because we only need to know that it all happened. The rest will be understood when we get to heaven – or maybe we won’t even care or feel a need to know the rest – because we’ll be in heaven. Again, I say “wow!” Heaven awaits. So while we’re on this earth, let’s rejoice, encourage peace, offer hope, love each other.
My prayer today is that you allow the power of God to infuse your life. And that you use that power to advance the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Mary
