The Claim

 "Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did." I John 2:6....."Do we seek a salvation that doesn't disrupt our lives? Do we claim to live in Him yet not live like Him?

Most of us welcome the invitation, when at another's dinner table, to "help ourselves" to the bounty placed before us. That invitation gives us license to take freely of what has been placed before us. Yes, we welcome that, but, do we place such an invitation before the Father as pertains to our lives? Do we invite Him, joyfully, to help Himself to any and all of our lives without reservation? Or, do we prefer and seek a life, a "salvation," that doesn't infringe upon what it is we really want? Have we placed boundaries before Him that say He can go this far in us, but no further? Have we sought to keep His "disruptions" of our lives to a bare minimum, or none at all? If so, we will never walk as He did, live as He did, and as He still does. In truth, we'll be hard pressed to give any evidence that we're really "in Him" at all, despite all our claims to the contrary.

Paul said that he had been crucified with Christ, and that it was "no longer I who lived, but Christ lives in me." He said that he was no longer his own, that he belonged, all of him, to Christ. He lived at the pleasure of His Lord, and he did so with great joy. Why is it that we think that such a life is only required of a few "super saints" like Paul, those called to full time ministries? How can we have become so deceived that we feel the Lord gives us an "out" on all of this because, well, we're not called to such ministries....are we?

Chris Tiegreen gives a wonderful portrait of what the life of a believer is to be. He pictures a 5 star restaurant where the finest service is offered to the patrons. In such a setting there will be one or more attendants assigned to a table. Their role will be to stand back and be aware of every need of the diner. When their glass needs refilled, or a plate cleared away. Their attention is focused solely on those that they serve. This is to be the life of a true follower of Christ, but in reality it is the life of far too few of us. Most of us are more aware of our own needs than of His desires. Few of us are so devoted as to just literally sit at His feet and wait upon Him, listening for every word, responding to every direction. To do so would bring unlimited disruptions to our agendas. In fact we much prefer a portrait where it is Jesus who waits upon us, attentive to our desires and wants. This fits our flesh much better. We're blind to the reality that it makes a total mockery of Christ and His cross.

We're to live totally at His disposal. Our flesh sees this as bondage. Paul saw it as freedom, because in being a slave to Christ, he was free from all else. He knew that true abundant life could be realized in no other way. We no longer claim to live in Him, we actually do. And, the only claim upon our lives is His, and with His whisper of grace, promises us that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Where have we found such truth in the midst of all the claims of the world upon us?

What are we claiming today as concerns Him? What do you claim? Our lives will either bear witness to our claim, or make a mockery of it. Which is it for you....for me?

Blessings,

Pastor O