In Christ Jesus
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Today’s Text: Romans 8:31-39 (Living Life Daily Devotional)
Being “in Christ Jesus” is the reason that I am saved. On the one hand, what that means for me is a great mystery. I can hardly understand it. On the other hand, it is a great revelation. I am in Christ Jesus through faith, and that faith draws me into a life that is found in Him.
What Jesus thinks, I desire to think. What Jesus feels, I desire to feel. Where Jesus goes, I desire to go. What Jesus does, I desire to do. What Jesus says, I desire to say. What Jesus wants, I desire to obey.
And yet, like the apostle Paul says,
but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.
— Romans 7:23
But the law of sin at work within me is not the reality. Yes, I sin. But because of what CHRIST has done—not what I do—my sin is sort of like an illusion—an image of my future past that is projected onto on a vapor trail that is my life history.
My reality, however, is Christ. Nothing will separate me from being found in Him.
Of course, if there is no war against the law of sin at work within me, if I am at peace with the law of sin at work within me, then I am not in Christ, but I am still in sin.
The struggles that I face in being obedient to Christ tell me that I am in Christ. The struggles that I face against the law of sin at work within me tell me that I am in Christ.
But the reality is that I am in Christ, and so I am being drawn into His life—a life of faithfulness and obedience in ever-increasing measure.
And on my journey of faith, my spiritual vitality in Christ is NOT measured by my FEELINGS of spirituality. My spiritual vitality in Christ is measured by my faithfulness and obedience to Christ.
Father, You are the source of my life and my strength. You are for me. Who or what can be against me? Give me confidence and boldness in that truth so that I may life my life in Christ with confidence and boldness. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
