abiding in Christ

Sometimes life reminds us of our limits. 

I had a humorous encounter with my limits years ago when a dear friend/mentor asked me for a favor. This woman had invested in my life in such meaningful ways I’d run through a wall for her if I could, so I eagerly jumped at the opportunity.

My assignment was simple: drive her to the hospital for a minor surgery, listen to post-op care instructions from the nurse, and drive her back home.

And here’s how things went south:

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 ear, I understand more of the paradoxical nature of abiding in Christ.