If you’re a Christian, here’s the good news: who you really are has nothing to do with you— how much you can accomplish, who you can become, your behavior, your strengths, your weaknesses, your sordid past, your family background, your education, your looks, and so on. Your identity is firmly anchored in Christ’s accomplishment, not yours; His strength, not yours; His performance, not yours; His victory, not yours.
~Tullian Tchividjian, Nick Lannon
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
~ paul, The Least of The Apostles, in Colossians 1
Oh beloved, it is true. Setting our own priorities in our Christianity is a death sentence to living the victorious life in Christ. This is because we are trying to induce self-motivated, religious exercise to prove our faith and to gain the favor of G_d.
Everything in our brains screams for correction when we make a mistake. Somehow, someway we feel we have to get ourselves back on track. And when we fall behind on our tithes or devotions or service, we sense that somehow G_d is going to withhold His goodness from us until we get it right (or at least a little water has flowed under the bridge).
Stop. Really beloved. Hold on for a moment.
When our faith depends on our own prioritization of our religious life (tithing, devotions, prayer time, service, etc.), over other things, we are in trouble, and headed for failure…. Surely, in all things Christ is Preeminent! But in the same epistle to the Colossians, and other passages, Paul reminds us why we see Him this way:
You have died.
You don’t have any priorities anymore.
Your life is now His Life, and He is All in all.
You Live and move and have your being within Him.
Can we see it? We (often) still believe that our faith is some sort of thing that we participate in. We still believe that it is something that we need to put into some sort of optimized list of priorities. And all of this seems reasonable if we are still listening to the old man who is no longer alive within us.
Repent and believe the gospel beloved.
Your life is over, and it is no longer your own. For it has been bought at a price. And this is one of the best parts of the Good News. We can bring nothing to the table that is worth anything. Nothing at all, except the willingness to receive the infinite and unfathomable treasures of His Grace.
So yeah, Jesus is everything to us. But He is not Someone we make a priority. There is no list anymore. There is only Him, and Him living out His Life in us and through us. But when we allow this reality to manifest itself within us, something amazing happens. We find that, though we have died, we are more alive than we ever thought possible.
Are you struggling in your faith? New Year’s resolutions won’t help. Tonight is your night beloved. Time to believe you are dead.
