So what about how we connect with Christ? See, some Christians have this idea about their relationship with Christ that’s not all too different from a “Facebook friend.” You know the kind of Christian I’m talking about? I’m not sure we could term them Christian really, more like Christian-by-association. Of course they know Christ, I mean they could probably tell you His interests: the poor, healing the blind and the lame, spending time alone on a mountain. Favorite book: The Bible. Religious Views: Himself. They could probably tell you a few of the images they’ve caught of him walking on water or feeding a lot of people. They might even be able to quote a couple of His famous statuses: “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” They may know every detail about Christ, but they don’t really know Christ. They don’t connect with Christ past this superficial level. They know of Him, yet they don’t know Him. What about us? We can’t live for Jesus on Sundays and Wednesdays, and live every other day of the week like He doesn’t exist. It is very dangerous if you are caught in this place in life. Caught in a virtual relationship with Christ, so that at the very core of your soul you’ve lost sight of an intimate relationship with Jesus. A deep, soul-penetrating relationship with Jesus.
But, how? How can we truly connect with Christ? How can our life be so wrapped up in His, that when someone looks at us it’s hard to tell where we end and He begins. I want to be at the place where my religious views don’t just say I believe in Christ, but my every breath proclaims that I can’t believe in anything else besides Jesus. I want that kind relationship. If we as followers of Christ are going to connect our life with Christ, I think there are three essential things we need to grasp, I mean like literally cling to.
We have to know Christ. For some, that means truly walking into His salvation for the very first time, even if we've already "walked down the aisle". For some, it means surrendering everything we hold tightly in our hands at the cross, like throwing it all down at His feet. And for others, it means forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead (Phil 3:13). Paul talks about in Philippians that He desperately wants “to know Christ” and to be “found in Him” (3:10, 9). See, Paul gave everything up for the Gospel. Everything that was a gain to him, he considered a loss for Christ. He was a Jew of all Jews, he was pretty much the deal. Yet, for the “surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus” he lost all things (3:8). That is a kind of knowing Christ that is deeper than the sinner’s prayer. It’s a desire for Christ to rip apart our lives and become part of who we are. We live and breathe Jesus. His words are on our tongue; his truth is on our lips. Why? Because we know Him. We know HIM.
We have to take hold of the power of the Holy Spirit. In John 14:26, Jesus tells His disciples, “But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away.” Now, this must have shocked the disciples. I mean they have literally been walking with the Son of God for three years now. Can you imagine living life with Jesus? Like eating, sweating, and laughing with Jesus day in and day out. And Him taking every opportunity to speak truth into your life, I mean if He can teach the disciples through a fruitless fig tree, He could use anything. Why would it be better for Christ to leave them in their own power and their own strength? And in about two months He is going to tell them to go share the Gospel to the ends of the Earth. But, what the disciples had yet to understand and what we unfortunately forget is the power of what He says next: “Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” See, Jesus was God in the flesh. Jesus was completely God and He was completely human. How that happens totally fries my brain, but its true. See, Christ invested in twelve men, and some suppose an even deeper relationship with three of them. But, He was still God in the flesh. Christ was about to send His followers out to the NATIONS, and He knew they could not do it on their own. They needed the power of the Holy Spirit. It is so mind-boggling to think that the Creator of the universe lives inside of me. He lives inside of you. And He is ALL POWERFUL. Christ knew that it was better for Him to leave so that His people could have the great Counselor. The Guider. The Advocate. The most amazing plan He could have ever devised. If we are going to connect with Christ in our lives, I mean if He is really going to be part of who we are, we must realize the power of the Holy Spirit. He crosses barriers, He opens doors, He breaks down the walls, He intercedes for us with wordless groans (Rom 8:26). The Spirit knows our hearts, and He knows the will of God. Trust me, I’m just learning about the amazing power of the Holy Spirit, but I do know that it is a resource we must tap into if we truly want to connect Christ to our lives.
Finally, we desperately need to realize that we are His witnesses. I love the last words Jesus tells His disciples right before He ascends into heaven. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Jesus doesn’t play around. We are to be Christ ambassadors. We carry His name every time we speak, every time we act, and every time we press a key. His name is now our identity, and people outside our holy huddle see that. And when Christ says that we are His witnesses, He covers every aspect of our lives. This new century idea of compartmentalization did not coincide with Christ’s philosophy. He said to be a witness in Jerusalem: the places we walk each and everyday. Our homes, our work, our school, our church. He said to be a witness in Judea: the bigger spectrum of our community. We are to be witnesses even outside the comfort zone of our lives, among the people who don’t know His name. We are to be witnesses in Samaria: the people we don’t get along with. It would be an understatement to say that the Jews hated the Samaritans, after all they were only half Jewish. But, Christ says that they are to be a witness to even those people. This may be the hardest place Christ calls us to be a witness because these are the people it is easiest to forget need our love the most. And then Christ says we are to be witnesses to the ends of the earth: so just about every area we haven’t talked about, Christ says be a witness there. Be a witness to the world. Even when no one is looking.
Philippians 1:27 says, “Whatever happens, as citizens of heaven live a life worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, stringing together with one accord for the faith of the gospel.” Is your life worthy of the gospel? Not just when the world is watching, but even when you're alone. We are called to live our lives reflecting Christ. Take some time to reflect on the reflection of your life. See Christ, He wants ALL of you. He doesn’t just want half of you, He wants every single fiber of your being. Will you give it to Him?
“Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?’” (Mt. 16:24-26)
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