The beginning of our faith journey is the moment in time when we confessed our faith in Jesus, that He suffered and died for our sins and God, the Father, raised Him – Jesus, from the dead. That point in time is the first step in a journey that we will live out in our natural life and forever in the presence of our Lord. To know Christ for Who He was, is and ever will be. To embrace our new life and to yield to the Spirit of God and the transformation the Spirit brings as we pursue our relationship with Jesus, our Lord. To know Christ. It should be our primary goal.
“All I once held dear, built my life upon, All this world reveres and wants to own
All I once thought gain, I have counted loss, Spent and worthless now, compared to this
Now my heart's desire is to know You more, To be found in You and known as Yours
To possess by faith what I could not earn, All-surpassing gift of righteousness
Oh to know the power of Your risen life, And to know You in Your sufferings
To become like You in Your death, my Lord, So with You to live and never die
Knowing You, Jesus, knowing You, There is no greater thing
You're my all, You're the best, You're my joy, my righteousness, And I love You, Lord” (Graham Kendrick, Knowing You, 1993)
I first heard that song at a Promise Keepers conference in 1994. It speaks clearly to that transformation and the effects it should have on and in my life. Is your faith the most important aspect of your life? Do you want it to be? Or perhaps merely having faith and assurance is enough – it is for many Christians. We must all be on our guard that we don’t become complacent. Of all we do in this life – there is but one thing that has eternal value – our faith in Jesus. But like the TV commercial says “But wait! There’s more!”
“And so it was with me [Paul], brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling.” – 1 Corinthians 2:1-3
Not only are we to know Christ and grow in that knowledge, but we are to make Him known. Paul journeyed to many places to tell others about Jesus. He built relationships and demonstrated the faith he preached by living it out. Just like Graham Kendrick’s song describes – a life transformed by faith and obedience. Dr. John Maxwell said, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” Oh how I love the English language and it’s rhythm. Making Christ known among the nations is our mission. Whether it is in our neighborhood, school, work place, market place, or some remote place on this planet – we should be a living advertisement of our faith in Jesus. You don’t have to be in-your-face with your faith to be an effective communicator of you faith – you just need to be devoted to your new life – and be peculiar – an social anomaly – loving God and loving others. You don’t have to always be a silent witness – but your life should shout out who you are in Christ. Old things and devotions and traditions – passing away – all things becoming new. Paul understaood the significance of the message and “trembled” in reverent fear of his calling and the One who called.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.” – 2 Corinthians 5:17-20
So often I stop at verse 17 when I share it with people, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. To know Christ and to make Him known! That is what our new life is all about.
By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone
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