Gospel News — May-Aug 2013

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But how do we lock in to this abundant life? It is none less than the resurrection life of the Lord Jesus. The life of Jesus is now being made manifest in our mortal flesh; and that life "works in you" (2 Cor. 4:11,12). The Christ-focused life means that He is working through us, doing His work, so far as we open ourselves to Him. Sure, we should read the Bible, and, that daily. But we can too easily leave it there, thinking that our duty is to maintain correct understanding of some doctrines, read the Bible, go to church, keep our nose clean, live a reasonable life. But we can do all that and still not make that vital personal connection with the Lord Jesus as a person, feeling His presence, communicating with Him, knowing Him, consciously serving Him and ever seeking to be as Him in this world... making and allowing His thinking to be ours. To have "the mind of Christ", His outlook, perspective and worldview, to speak as He would speak, reason as He would. The Jews studied the Bible, but they would not come to Jesus that they might have life (Jn. 5:39,40).

We are called to live, to live for Christ and with the life of Christ - not to merely exist. Not to live merely in the sub-culture of being a Christian, full of good theology and fine phrases. There is a `life' in some groups who have totally wrong beliefs, which should challenge us deeply. The Mormons say it takes them 500 hours of work on the doors to get a convert. And they do it - thousands of their young people are out knocking on hostile and unwelcoming doors as you read this. And the JWs are another example. And we... with so, so much more and better to tell folk... what are we doing? Immersed in our sub-culture - or out there doing something with our lives? Just as you get middle aged spread, so our beliefs can become stale, and we become flabby. Nothing excites us anymore. But this is not the abundant life in Christ.

This is not just a point to agree with and skip on. Clever and inspirational words are cheap. We put them on Facebook profiles, status updates etc. and talk soberly and approvingly of them. But our usage of them can disguise the fact that

much of our would be zeal is borrowed. The revolutionary and dynamic message of the real Christ can still be unfelt by us personally. We can read thousands of `great books', hear hundreds of powerful exhortations - all in a fog of unreality. And yet never really change or live this life. We undervalue ourselves and our huge significance to God and our Lord. That's probably one reason why we have a tendency to hero-worship and setting up brethren on pedestals - `I wish I were him / her, I never will be, the best I can do is reverence those who spiritually made it'. But as Marianne Williamson put it, "We ask ourselves, `Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world" (from Return to Love). In the eyes of God and the Lord who so loved us to the point of death, we are all those things. We are talented - He has given us talents, to go trade with and achieve something for Him, to make some increase of what He has given. There are good works which God before ordained that we should do for Him (Eph. 2:10). Right now, ask Him. Yes, stop reading this and pray - that God will show you His hopes for you, His intentions, what He has set you up to do for Him, what talents He has given you.

But say `Amen' to that prayer realizing it will require radical change. And just accept that you like all human beings are a conservative. We cling, desperately, to patterns of coping and established ways of being. The Lord recognized the essential conservatism of human nature when He observed that no matter how good the new wine, we will think that "the old is better" (Lk. 5:39), taking it as read that "the former days were better than these" (Ecc. 7:10). Yes, for all our much vaunted liberalism and open mindedness, our reasonable openness to new ideas which we assume we have - we are conservatives by nature. Don't disturb me or upset my social club. The seed of the Gospel was sown in our lives so that we might bring forth fruit. Not to just be retained and to lay dormant. The Lord's judgment of the one talent man may seem unusually harsh- he who carefully