Monday, January 13, 2020
687 - Sure-Footed in Christ
Spirituality Column #687
January 14, 2020
Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary
Sure-Footed in Christ
By Bob Walters
“He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have
the son does not have the life.” 1 John 5:12
If we are fortunate enough to have a life in Christ – and I
mean A Life In Christ we know and that has long since passed “I wonder
if it is true?” – my oh my, aren’t we encouraged daily – by other Christians – to
fret over whether we are “doing it right”?
Sure, the “world” challenges much: our faith, God’s
existence, Jesus’s goodness, and the Holy Spirit’s truth. The “world” will ask, “How do you know?” The “world” will blame Satan’s mischief on a
faithful God. The “world’s” calling card
is stamped with doubt, derision, distrust, and dissension. Not everyone “gets it” when it comes to Jesus,
and isn’t it funny/sad how many of those “D” word issues exist within the church,
too?
But let’s focus Christian-to-Christian on the holy life that
many of us would call our “personal relationship with Christ.” It is a life’s reality we can probably
explain to our own satisfaction, and maybe to other Christians. To non-believers? Not so much.
We try! Lord, that’s
our “Job #1”. We are to be witnesses to
the truth of Christ and make Him known to all the world. Happy to do it! But it’s a “sale” only the Holy Spirit truly
makes. Our best play as Christian
witnesses is to discern our gifts and share them with love. Jesus is known to all, but the faith, trust,
and life thing still eludes many.
Which is why I lament among shared Christian lives that we
find fault, not grace.
It might be in a sermon, a book, a Sunday school class, a
fellowship ministry, on the radio, or really anywhere one encounters Christian
thought. Here we have this wonderful and
nearly unimaginable gift through Jesus Christ of the ongoing spiritual sharing
of God’s eternal life, truth, and love. And
the in-house message often is, “Are you challenged enough!?” “Are you doing it right?” “Let’s focus on your problems!!!”
Fine, but I do not see faith or church or fellowship or even
Christian theology as an exercise in negotiation. Truth is truth, mystery is mystery, and hope
is both a present and eternal quality. I
do not view life in Christ from the standpoint of problems, challenges,
failures, conflicts, or barriers. Instead
I see joy, love, and opportunity; and view Jesus as a welcome and complete
Cosmic truth. I am as sure I am a
sinner as I am sure that Jesus is Lord, God is in Heaven, the Holy Spirit is
real … and I am saved.
Personally I intend – and believe we are encouraged by
scripture – to live our Christianity in the joy of knowing God’s truth and
love, not in perpetual fear of either our own shortcomings or the Christian
“world’s” self-focusing assessments, criticisms, claims, and judgments for how we
could be doing it better. It keeps us
wrong-footed and un-free if we focus on the shifting sands of sin, shame,
guilt, debts, and penalties. No, I’ll
stand sure-footed in the unwavering freedom of the solid rock of Jesus Christ.
My life in Christ is not based on what Satan did to
me, it is based on what Jesus did for me. Not on what Satan did to humanity, but on
what Jesus did for humanity. Not upon
Satan’s hate for and the world’s opposition to God, but on Jesus’s love of God.
The world presents challenges enough. Life in Christ overcomes … if we let it.
Walters (rlwcom@aol.com)
has lived with and without faith. Faith
is better.
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