Christ is not far from us. “But the righteousness which is of faith says this, ‘Don’t say in your heart, “Who will ascend into heaven?” (that is, to bring Christ down); or, “Who will descend into the abyss?” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead.)’ But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, in your mouth, and in your heart;’ that is, the word of faith which we preach”(Rom. 10:6-8). He is as close as our mouth and heart. He is not way beyond our reach, not too far above or too deep below.
What is attractive about this Christ? In Him “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden” (Col. 2:3). In Him is all wisdom and knowledge. All power and peace. All of salvation and life everlasting.
And where is this Christ to be found among His followers? In you. “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27). Yet we keep seeking wisdom and life and knowledge from many other sources. We weary ourselves seeking something God has already supplied in his Son.
Remember the two trees God planted east of Eden? (Gen. 2.8, 15-17). One was the tree of which knowledge we can obtain apart from God. The other was the tree of fruit that imparts eternal life that comes from enjoying God.
What kind of knowledge are we getting from the internet, books, videos, whatever? Facts and fictions. That’s all. They are tainted with the philosophies of the world that contradict Christ. What knowledge does Christ impart? His life.
We received life when we first heard the gospel and trusted in God. What was the subject of the gospel? Jesus Christ. How did we respond to that word of Christ? We believed it and Him. It turned our lives around. It brought us eternal life.
“As therefore you received Christ Jesus, the Lord, walk in him” (Col 2:6). as you have received Him, so live daily. We are to keep reading of Christ, keep seeking Him to know Him more and more, keep hearing His voice and responding, and glory in this treasure called eternal life. The just shall continue living by faith.
We don’t get this life through a lot of book reading. We get it through believing Christ. To him who has, more will be given (Matt. 13:12). This is a spiritual principle. Keep believing; keep receiving.
Life through a person is not an unknown concept. Many successful marriages and friendships are about the two opening themselves up to each other over the years and going through challenging situations together. There’s a special quality of life in the bond that develops.
When we stop seeking Christ, we merely circle around the same doctrines over and over, and the substance of the promises remains elusive. Christ in you is the substance. He is the exceedingly great reward. He is the prize. In Him dwells all the fullness of God, and He’s in you and you in Him. He’s not far away.
In Him is the cruise ship bearing everything you need to endure the voyage of life on your way to the furthest shore.
We’ve been gypped. We thought the world will give us what our religion did not. And so our religion became Christ plus Something Else for salvation. The problem is not that Christ couldn’t deliver; the problem was that we stopped seeking Christ. We stopped with head knowledge instead of reaching out to the Person who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Life is found in a Person who is not far off.
In Him all the promises of God are accessed. When we go through difficulties of life with Him, a bond of trust develops and we believe His claims in a greater way. “Lord, to whom else shall we go? For You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68).
When God reveals Himself, our life changes. His self-disclosure imparts light that illuminates our world in a whole new way. Hebrews 11 recounts the pantheon of heroes who believed and responded to God when He revealed Himself to them. How did Moses take on the work of guiding hundreds of thousands of people across the desert? He saw God. “By faith, he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible” (11:27). All these men and women heard God’s voice and it turned them in new directions. They saw the God behind the words.
Just like the gospel did for us. In the gospel, God spoke to us, and it made all the difference.
The bible’s words are not like the words of an exciting fiction thriller where our pulse pounds in suspense, we shake with laughter, or weep over loss. “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words I speak to you, they are spirit and they are life” (John 6:63). Do you want to hear His voice speaking to you? The bible’s words communicate Christ in all the scriptures. And when it does, we believe that Person, pray it through, and start to reflect the life, the glory of the Person the words impart.
The bible is a tool engineered for a purpose: to reveal our God. “But we all, with unveiled face seeing the glory of the Lord as in a mirror, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord, the Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:18). When Christ reveals Himself to us in the scriptures, we change. Through faith in the promises, Christ’s divine nature of love would be stamped on us. Jesus believed and obeyed the Father. We believe and follow Jesus. The pattern of His own faith and life is communicated and developed in us.
Sin separates us from God. Faith in Christ restores the fellowship; it restores us to the right way to address the Savior and Lord. That faith is to continue the same way it began, with the word of God. Hearing it. Believing it. Following through on what we receive. That’s how we were were saved, and that’s how we are “being saved” (1 Cor. 1:18).
In this daily faith we are dealing with sin and living above it with every decision of faith in Jesus. Then we are looking to the life-nourishing Tree of Life. The just shall live by faith in Him. God rewards those who earnestly seek Him. What’s the reward? More of Himself. More of what they seek.
How far away is the Fount of Life? How near is the Shepherd of our souls? He isn’t far from any of His children. He invites us to know His indwelling, and the outcome depends on what we do with the word of God.
“Jesus answered him, ‘If a man loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our home with him’ ” (John 14:23). He promises to reveal Himself to those who are faithful to study His word and follow up on it; to receive its commands and obey them. When we do, we’ll follow in the same footsteps of Him who heard from the Father and obeyed Him. His believing, humble life will be replicated in us. Christ in us will live His life through us. “For it is God who works in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13).
You know if you are seeking Him or not. Your TV show preferences, credit card bills, smartphone apps, videos viewed, and books read all paint a picture of what’s important to you.
Your bible study and prayer times. Your worship life. Your participation in church life. Your desire to serve and love others. In everything you do, you are seeking the kingdom of God first or this world ruled by the evil prince.
The battle is between life and death. God and idols. Choose this day what you will seek.
In Christ is the treasury of all that is good, all that is rich in meaning, everything that truly satisfies.
All wisdom and knowledge, Col. 2:3.
All righteousness, 2 Cor. 5:21.
The fullest expanse of freedom, Gal. 2:4.
Every spiritual blessing, Eph. 1:3-4.
Full redemption, Eph. 1:7.
Unlimited riches of grace forever, Eph. 2:7.
Peace surpassing all, Phil. 4:7.
Every need supplied, Phil. 4:19.
Knowing the will of God, 1 Thess. 5:18.
Salvation with eternal glory, 2 Tim. 2:10.
Answered prayers, John 15:7.
Alive to God, Rom. 6:11.
No condemnation, Rom. 8:1.
In Him all the bible promises come true, 2 Cor. 1:20.
“Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, ‘What do you seek?’ ” (John 1:38). What are you looking for by following Christ? What are your expectations, and where did they come from? Recapture why you became a Christian. Seek your first love. Put aside your idols. Recapture the vision. Seek the honor that comes from God alone. Seek life.
Find it all in the Christ who loved you and died for your sins on the cross. He was buried and rose from the tomb to set you free to experience the most amazing love you can ever know.
