It would only take one look at me to realize that I was never much of an athlete. I played a little soccer in elementary and Jr High, but for the most part, none of my yearbooks were not filled with accolades of Athletic prowess. Truth be known, I was one of those who was usually picked last for teams. The feeling of rejection followed me through much of my life and even now, when I witness this today whether in person or on a movie, there is a sinking feeling in my stomach. There is one thing that I believe is at the heart of every human being... the need for acceptance and intimacy... specifically with God.
Look around you and you will see people, Christian and non-Christian alike, clamoring for that which is but a hollow shell of what they desire the most. Don't believe me, well then logic would say that if material wealth and popularity is what satisfies, then one would assume that those who live in Hollywood and Washington would be the most emotionally stable and healthy. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that that couldn't be farther from the truth.
Last night in our small group we talked about this at length. We have been talking about the two parts of the Gospel: 1. Christ's death on the cross dealt completely with our sin, 2. Christ rose from the grave to give us new life. And it was no surprise to me that as I shared my heart in this second area from my own experience, the look on their faces told me they had never really fully grasped this part of their identity in Christ. This is one of the most important and yet I feel one of the most neglected aspects of the Gospel in the church today. And I have come to realize that, unlike Oprah's new fad cult "the secret,"this topic truly is the "The Secret" to the abundant life Christ refers to in John 10:10. I will admit that some can articulate these two parts, but so few in the Church really live in the truth of the second part.
This morning, I was reading and found this Thomas A Kempis quote that describes what we talked about: "The one who loves flies, runs, and is glad; he is free and not bound. He gives all for all, and has all in all, because he rests in one who is supreme above all things, from whom every good thing flows and goes forth." It wasn't until just a few years ago that I realized that although I was a follower of Christ, I was not free, but bound in slavery to my guilt and sin that Christ had overcome by His death. I was not living in the rest that is described here.
I remember growing up in the church and watching people get baptized, I would hear the pastor quote Romans 6:4 as he dunked them into the water, "Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life." That odd little phrase was never explained to me, not really. I mean I understood that as a Christian I was to stop doing bad things, but it never was explained to me that my identity had changed and I actually had the power to do that. I was a new creature in Christ. (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:17).
You see when we become new creatures in Christ, God actually gives us a new life. We are born again. That is not just a religious phrase, it is a new identity. The trouble is few people ever learn how to actually walk in that identity. Oh, they may do a lot of trying, but how many people in the Church do you know that are actually living the life of rest in the Supreme one that Kempis refers to? I sure wasn't. I thought the Christian life was hard-- it's not! It is impossible. Jesus describes eternal life best for us in John 17:3. It is about relationship with the Father. That is the Secret! Once I learned the Secret, I was set free by the Truth! Do I always hit the mark? Absolutely not, but I can rest in the fact that I don't have to because He is the One that has completed the work required for complete acceptance before the Father. I can now remain intimate with Him as long as I abide in him. I will spend the rest of my life sharing the Secret with those both in the Body and out.
Now you know the Secret! Go walk in newness of life by the power of Christ in you!
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