How long must I continue in such low form, drug down by small and fleeting things the heights which I so long to stand upon? Truly, it is as Augustine said; our old fleshly habits are weights which leave us straining upward but still eating dust. My longing is that my mind, heart, and soul would be so captivated by Christ that it would be set only “on things that are above, not on things that are of earth.” (Colossians 3:2)
I long for that oneness of heart but fall far short of obtaining it. What should be thundering passion thrumming within my chest as I pray or study the Word often becomes a mere clinical examination of deity. Words rolled from the mouth of God onto paper and preserved for thousands of years should strike me with massive for, yet they seem to move through me with little effect. A life that should be lived in the confident courage of knowing that if God is for me, none can be against me becomes a barely-swimming struggle to stay afloat in a storm.
Still, in that often unaffected mind there is a seed that knows it is meant to inspire fruit of an unearthly quality. A fruit that sets captives free and heals the wounded; a fruit that wells up within its eater to become springs of living water; a fruit that awakes sleepers and breaks curses; a fruit that abides, because the branch that bears it does the same. And this branch – this small branch of a man – aches deeply at his better hours to be part of a generation that pushes forth, suffering and dying their way into life, just like their savior did. It is fruit like that that the Lord has sent his Spirit to bring forth. Christ sent his Spirit to lead us to him who is the only way, truth, and life.
And where is Christ to be found? He is upon the cross, crying out in agony and gagging upon his own blood. He is in eternity, reveling at the work that the Godhead has wrought. He is at a grave’s entrance, bidding Lazarus to rise and standing to reveal his own resurrection. He is standing at an altar purified by his own blood, waiting for his bride to come and be purified so that he may take her as his own. Christ is in you oh believer.
In you.
Have you understood that, or has your mind so long crippled by sin so as to prevent you from seeing the vast expanse of what has been placed within you when God sent his Spirit? Christ – the one in whom God was pleased to dwell – dwells in you. Your yet-sinful flesh somehow contains all the fullness of God. How can we dare to dabble in anything as trivial as what is of this earth? It is ludicrous that you should be captivated by television or sports of food or sex or coffee or careers when all things are already yours. The greatest things of the world are loss when compared to that surpassing greatness which has been planted within you as the Spirit has begun to grow.
Yet even as I sit and write these things part of my mind wants to just quit writing and go play video games from now until midnight. Not two days ago I chose to blatantly ignore that very Spirit’s leading, trading a God’s will for a few hours of entertainment and pleasure. How dare I do so? Have we forgotten so easily him who called us by the riches of his grace? Do we deny the blood of his new creation that now flows within our veins? God help us.
And indeed he shall.
Here is my call, you Christian men and women; I say no new thing, I only urge you once again to take up your cross and follow your God, to the death if you must (and indeed you must). Stand from your stupor; awake you sleeping generation! God has done the thing and it is marvelous in our eyes. Now we are to continue it by his power. As the Father did his works in and through the Son, so we are to do Christ’s work, moving as he leads. Forget these passing pleasures and focus yourself on that which is imperishable and unfading. I for one am tired of spending my life on drops of dust when my God offers and ocean in which to swim.
To be honest, I don’t know what that ocean looks like for you, but I know for me there are some things I need to get rid of before I swim well. Those lead weights for me take the forms of entertainment and pleasure, and no man can swim well with lead upon him. I intend to replace those worthless (at best) things with prayer, meditation upon the word, speaking of Christ to those who don’t know him, and so much more. It means that who I marry is directly guided by Christ’s cross. It means that sleep is not my highest priority, Christ is. It means that my worry is not money, but whether I am pleasing my God by the way I live.
Like I said, I don’t know what swimming in the ocean looks like for you, but you need to know. Christ is in you like the sap of the vine is in its branches. His life leads down to death and up again into infinite life, all for the glory of the Father. If his life is in you, yours will look like his. That is no small thing. The Superbowl, tsunamis, and life are small things. Your car breaking down is a small thing. Don’t live life focused on the small things. Live like Christ; to the praise of the Lord’s glorious grace.
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