Your Life is Not Your Own

Keith KettenringBible Insights, Christian Living, The Uncommon Journey

Why do you exist? I’m talking about your whole being – body, mind, heart, soul, relationships. Why do you have a body? A mind? A heart? A soul? Relationships? You have been designed by God like this in order to participate in the life of Jesus Christ as his life is lived in you.

[featured-image single_newwindow=”false”]

“Apart from Me,” Jesus says, “you can do nothing.” (John 15.5) Unless his life is dynamically flowing in your life, you can accomplish zero. The good news? His life IS flowing in your life. You wouldn’t be alive without it. Think of it like this: physically, unless your heart beats, you don’t live; apart from your heart beating, you can do nothing. Yes, there are people who have hearts but are not living. We call a person like that, a corpse. Its the energy of the heart beating that gives physical life. Spiritually, Jesus is your beating heart. It is the energy of Christ’s life that gives spiritual life.

Not too long ago, the internet to our house shut down. We were cut off from the energy that gives life to our Wi-fi. Our computers and phones did not operate. This is similar to electricity and energy. Unless the energy of electricity flows into the computer, it does not operate. That’s true of every appliance and lamp in your house. There’s a source of energy that gives life to an object. For us spiritually (and for all of life), that source of energy is Christ’s life.

yet for us there is one God, the Father,

of whom are all things, and we for Him;

and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things,

and through whom we live. (1 Cor. 8.6)

All things exist in one Lord Jesus Christ and you live through him. You exist as a result of the life of Jesus Christ in you.

“So, what?” you might ask. What difference does this reality make in my everyday life?

  • It helps you realize that you are not self-existing. Your source of life comes from outside yourself. Meditate on that for a while.
  • It leads to humility. You are not self-sufficient for anything. It’s humbling to experience your life as Christ’s life.
  • It leads to repentance. You recognize your need to radically shift the direction of your life and to begin to walk the path of dependence on, and participation in, Jesus Christ.
  • It leads to thankfulness. You have been given the gift of Christ’s life. Oh, my! The proper response is to be thankful!
  • It gives you purpose. You have a reason to live, work, and play – to participate in and manifest the life of Christ in you.

So, here’s a question for you to answer below. “How’s this working for you?” How are you experiencing (or not) the energy of Jesus Christ flowing in and through you? How are you struggling with this?

The life of Jesus Christ in you. Thanks be to God!

Dr. K