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The Paradoxical Life of Abiding in Christ
Abiding in Christ involves more than trusting him for salvation; it includes living intimately attuned to his presence within me. By his Spirit, Christ and I are one. My eyes are now our eyes; my mouth is now ours; my hands, my feet are ours. Though he lives in heaven, Jesus continues the ministry he began two thousand years ago. Through me, Jesus continues reconciling people with the Father. It’s a noble endeavor, but an arduous one – one that hurls me headlong into awkwardness and scrutiny. Obedience to the indwelling Christ makes me a living paradox. Reading the Sermon on the Mount and hearing Kent M. Keith’s “Paradoxical Commandments” in my…
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Fireflies and the Light of Christ
It’s summertime in the south, which means ripening watermelons, the stifling humidity, and flickering fireflies. Twice in the past two weeks I have traipsed out at dusk with a mason jar and nephews and friends’ kids in tow to chase lightning bugs. Within seconds, dozens of flashing neon dots enveloped us. Excitement surged through my veins. We began stalking the illusive insects, darting and reaching and following deeper into the darkness. The children squealed, usually in declaration of a capture, but also in the anxiety of holding a fluttering insect inside their tightly-clenched fists. Each bug was deposited into a mason jar where we could observe them more closely. There,…
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Questioning New Life in Christ
In my mid-twenties I started getting serious about God (whatever that means). I had an insatiable longing to feel cherished by God and an innate impulse to please him. These desires kept me distracted from seeking out what new life in Christ actually meant. As far as I could figure, Christianity was simply the art of imitating Christ. I thought I had the answer; it was the question I had wrong. What Would Jesus Do? Back in the 1990’s some genius marketers of morality branded all sorts of stuff with the acronym WWJD. The slogan gave people pause, prompting consideration of how Jesus would respond in a particular situation were he…
