My Core
Paul, Silas and Timothy, in a letter they co-wrote to the church of the Thessalonians, said this: “With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith.” (2 Thes. 1:11)
I may be sometimes pushed to act out of religious obligations, or sometimes it is because I have certain family, economic, physical, or social responsibilities. While these are part of my world and are valid considerations, living “from” there alone will leave me fruitless.
One day Jesus, knowing that he was about to complete his work on earth, made a promise to his disciples that he would not leave them as orphans, but that he would send Holy Spirit to be their advocate. It was on that occasion that he spoke these words: “On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.” (John 14:20)
In the new birth, I have been made new – created in and alike in nature with Christ. His attributes are now part of my nature; he lives and breathes in me. He is my core, and it is his Spirit in me that motivates and empowers my activity. Therefore, my greatest satisfaction comes as I live out naturally who and what I am on the inside. He himself, who is within me, is my true impetus. He himself, who is within me, is my compulsion. In everything I do, I live out of the “naturalness” of who and what Christ is inside me.
Christ in me means that my life has unbelievable worth and significance. My greatest fulfillment, therefore, is to live a life that matches that worth and significance. So, as I live in harmony with who I am in Christ and who he is in me, I live in contentment. The reality of my life corresponds with the reality of who and what I am in him.
My Calling
My family, my job and my community are my calling. And it is within this sphere that Jesus Christ calls forth the value that is in me and invites me to participate in his enterprise. Herein I am promised fruitfulness, motivated by the blessings that go with his call and urged on by the stimulus that comes when he is near. His calling is the substance of my life.
As Christ “works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,” (Eph 1:11) I can be confident that I represent him well in my world. In a strong and wonderful sense, God’s heaven is here, and I get to live out his presence and express his glory here, just as it is in Heaven.
My job is not only a place I have to go to make a living; it is where I get to go because God has called me there. My community is not only a place where I live; it is where I get to live out the glory of the risen Christ, who lives in me.
Take a moment to ponder this.
We will continue this conversation in my next article.