Christ lives in you
February 2, 2009 (Monday)
Picture in your mind a beautiful, placid lake. Mentally take a little trip to the dam that holds the lake in place. Watch as the gates of the dam open, and the water from the peaceful pond, bursts forth in huge, mighty gushes. That’s power. And the powerful rushing water is coming from the tranquil waters of the lake. The difference? The active, rushing, powerful waters have been set free.
In the same way, we block the flow of our potential power as Christians. In order to have the spiritual power of which we are capable, we have to unblock the flow by removing self. Paul wrote, “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20 NLT). He let the Lord take away his self-centeredness and his selfishness; the power of God, therefore, flowed freely through him. As he stated it, “Christ lives in me!” Christ worked through Paul. He can work through you.
Self can hide God. Self-interest, self-pity and self-exaltation are all facets of the same imitation diamond. Whenever our greatest concern is for ourselves, we have pushed Jesus aside and have assumed the place of authority in our own lives.
Selfishness robs God. The talents and gifts God has given us are fully invested in us only as we make them available to God. If we spend our time trying to improve our own life to the exclusion of concern for others, we are making a tragic mistake. God has a right to us and all that we have. “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.”
Self-surrender discovers God. God uses what is yielded to Him. Christian joy is found in Christian service. All our efforts to be happy fall short, but when we forget about ourselves and give God our all, we discover true happiness.
“O Love that will not let me go, I rest my weary soul in thee, I give thee back the life I owe, that in thine ocean depths its flow may richer, fuller be.”