WE live in a world of electronic gadgetry. I don’t know about you, but the last thing I do at the end of the day is plug in all my electronics to be sure they are charged up for the next day. My cell phone is next to my bed on the night stand plugged in. The iPad is plugged in sitting on a shelf in the kitchen. That’s it for me. Where do yours get plugged in for recharging?
How do you personally recharge? When you get worn out, where do you plug in? Different people do this differently. Some people get their energy from interaction with people. Some draw away to refresh. Some read a book. Some close their eyes and listen to music. Some take a nap. That last one is sounding better and better every day.
John tells us that we live through Jesus. Jesus did something that enables us to live. He died. It seems very strange that His death means our life, but that is the reality. His death provides us life. But it isn’t a life independent of Him. We must stay vitally connected to Him. We live through Him. If we try to function apart from Him, we lose our charge. We only live through Him. Remember, apart from Him we can do nothing. Apart from Him we walk in darkness and do not experience light in our life. Apart from Him we lie and do not practice the truth.
And we must counteract the lie of our world. Jesus is unique. He is not just one in a line of religiously delusional people down through history giving those in power even more power over the weak and mindless masses. Jesus is God in the Flesh. He came among us and solved our greatest problem: the sin problem. He provides new life, a fresh start, forgiveness, reconciliation with God and each other, hope for the future and so much more.
And all this is because Jesus in the unique, one and only, heir and rightful possessor of the power of God. He came from eternity into time to take us from time into eternity with Him. We were destined for His presence, but sin intervened and changed our destiny. Instead of His presence as the final resting place, we were assigned a place with Satan and his angels, a place apart from Him and a place of judgment. All in rebellion to His authority end up there.
But Jesus interrupted history and gave us the opportunity to choose a different final destiny. We can choose surrender and receive something we don’t deserve. We get what He deserves instead of what we deserve. We get the reward for His obedience instead of punishment for our disobedience.
And all this happens because God chose to show His love right where we live. Do you show the LORD right where you live? Or is He carefully hidden in very limited sectors of your life? Does His light shine, or just seep through the cracks in your carefully scripted life?
The Arnold Journey 