Introduction
Dear Reader: Our goal is to come to a deeper faith in Jesus Christ, and the way this blog encourages this is to ask questions for you to answer. If you wish, you can to send your answer to the Discovery blog. You can do so by an email (you can do so by using the contact at the top of the page) . We in turn will send further ideas for thought and study. The material below can be read, or better yet read just enough for you to understand the basic question at the top: what is Christian living. This can be a very interesting opportunity for clarifying and deepening understanding–which will help you as our Lord Jesus makes such a difference to life!
Christian living rests securely on the nature of God and on the nature of humanity. This life comes from God and his intentions and desires for humanity– for what God sees as our real needs and wants. We in our humanity are very concerned about who I am, what is my nature and what do I want for my life, for my family, and for my society. These basic questions– the most important questions of life– are answered in Christian living and are given direction within the interplay between the nature of God and of human needs and desires. The following material provides a brief scoping out and elaboration on what God says in his word, the Bible about the life of Christ, and the message of Jesus’ earliest witnesses.
Important: Please write out you understanding of Christian living and then read the statement below. Included are Biblical references for collaboration and further study.
I. Big picture of Christ and his message about God and about humanity living rightly
The message of God the Father brought to us by the Son Jesus Christ has as its goal to bring hope of a real and good personal relationship between God and humanity. This God initiated action seeks to bring change in our and all peoples hearts and life as He becomes our personal presence in us.. Our misdirected efforts, conflicted desires, exterior discord and violence, selfish attitudes and hearts, and a host of other ills and wrong actions and thoughts all make clear our great need. We are truly lost and can not find the right way to see ourselves or to live rightly; but God brings us his grace and shows us through Christ’s life and message how we can have real change, a change that comes about by God’s power–we can be saved. In our repentance from our old ways, we will see and learn that God knows our condition and since He is faithful to His promises, His love ensures that He sets out the best way to live. Thereby, we are introduced into a complete and full life – – a life of our choosing to make Jesus Christ our life. We will see its goodness since we be blessed by the presence of Christ, who gives us in our heart faith and hope for eternal life as we receive Christ’s peace, joy, and love in this present life. ( Romans 1-3, 8, and 12; Matthew 5, Luke 15)
In every way, this life in Christ demonstrates that only in Christ is the most complete and full existence is found. In no way is it a trivial existence because it deals with matters of eternal importance and it can radically change a person or a community for the better. This better living is demonstrated by Jesus Christ in many ways but it’s core is about unselfish love of others molded by the love of God in Christ and by the way he lived, died and rose from the grave. Christ’s love was no ordinary way of loving and his life validates that his life is the only real life: his going to the cross and taking our sins with him removes our guilt and makes it possible for us to be forgiven and to have the power to live lives of faith, hope and love.
Once we really look at this life, we are called to make a decision, a decision that cannot be avoided as all of us face only one ultimate all-inclusive question: am I only a material being who will die and pass from this life in this world or am I a God created being who will live eternally, either in the presence of God or separated from his glory. Christ clearly set out the way into the true life by his daily compassion for others, by his death on the cross, and by his resurrection which shows us the reality of eternity. Now we can clearly grasp the nature of our earthly existence. Jesus not only rose from the grave but he also gave us the perfect life model. Calling for us to repent of our old ways, Jesus describes his way of living as first a dying to our old life and the adoption of his life. We do this by repenting from our old ways, confessing, and believing that Jesus is our Savior from our old life and the Lord of our new life. We bring this great redirection together as we are immersed in water where our old life with its sins are washed away and where we enter in a new life of living in Christ with all its potential for change. Now we see life from the right viewpoint, now we know real life is walking in the path of Jesus, now we shed all our old ways for ways and plans that bring glory to our maker. Now we experience our gracious God lavishing on us his love and grace. Now we have received the only gift really worth receiving, our Savior who now lives in us. True and good life now begins! (see Acts 2; Romans 6:1 – 14; Titus 2:11 – 14; John 17:1 – 26).
We live this life in any number of ways, but the core and controlling power behind all the possibilities of life is the personal relationship of Christ with us that he establishes as he walks with us, as he guides us, and as he is endless gives his love to us (John 17). From reading and taking in the message of the Bible we are struck by the clear picture that Christ is with us and will provide the new heart and mind needed to live for Christ. This is all reinforced by our coming together with other Christ followers who form a community referred to as the church – – which gives many opportunities to share all the issues of life and where our sense of belonging to Christ deepens as we take part in Christ’s community. (I Corinthians 12, Ephesians 1-2)
In these and other ways we can become mature in Christ. Yet, our maturity will be challenged and thus the Bible describes Christian living as being strong enough to stand up to evil since we are dressed in the full battle armor of Christ to defeat Satan. Thus, when Satan does strike some blows against us, we willingly are self-sacrificing and we stand up for Christ as we are persecuted for Christ. Since our life has its roots, its foundation, and its sacrificial nature coming from the life and action of Jesus, we should live similarly as we will renounce evil and shameful ways and as we give ourselves to serve others rather than seeking to serve ourselves. Yet, in the midst of self giving with its attendant stresses, we are blessed as our joy deepens since we know we are glorifying God and helping people. At the same time, we may be confronted with all the normal difficulties of life including tragic events, but we are promised and we know that Christ is supporting us in all trials. In one sense, we can move from heights of joy and peace to the challenges of being sacrificial and giving. In all cases we are with Christ and we will be more than conquerors as the apostle Paul affirms. ( Ephesians 6; Romans chapter 8)
As we can see, much of ourselves undergoes real changes, changes for the best; but, it will take time and energy because this means building a new internal self as we connect to Christ. In this self connection to Christ, we moved from the earthly world to the spiritual world as Christ remakes us back into the image God gave us when he created us. Our heart, mind and spirit are reshaped in such a way we now see others in a new and spiritual light which is characterized by loving them with no personal self interests involved. Our frame of reference has shifted from self to God and other people, as we see our old ways as more and more hurting our new calling. Along with greater sensitivity to sin we are also alive to seeing the need to change our desires and hearts and our plans about life in new ways where we turn them into plans for Christ or we drop them altogether as Christ resets our priorities. Clearly these are not small issues but the more we mature in Christ more we will become convinced that this is the real way to live life. Halfway measures will not accomplish the job, only Christ can help us with this self and he will gladly and encouragingly direct us along the way.
Note: Reading the good news coming from Christ does contain words such as a new self and a new identity, and this language may give you pause: do I really need or want such a dramatic redefinition of myself? This seeing Christ as transforming our life is basic for new living and it does come at a cost of old ways and understandings. (see Colossians 3). But the gain is so much better than our old ways. Naming, only one advantage, we now see ourselves as children of God who have eternal life through Christ. This a radically different understanding than most views of our society which describes us as evolved accidentally from one cell creatures who are determined by our genes and our society with no hope of an afterlife. We will, with Jesus walking with us, come to see all the beauty and wonder God had in mind for us as his children. We will discover that being God’s child is the greatest gift possible since we are loved by God (I John 3: 1).
The center of this life is truly Jesus: he draws us into a fully connected life with him. Yet, it is also a life of many features covering all aspects of daily life affected by Christ as we affect the world at large.. The chief quality of this life is a deep love of God and other people because of the love God has for us. We are not talking about self-love or even romantic love but rather a love that is other focused because Christ is the source of this love and also the direction for the love of others. We seek not to gain some benefit from another person but rather to use the love Christ has for us to share with other people. We glory not in self but in Christ who loves us and who fills us with his love, which in turn we give to others. Such a love become the driving force that opens many doors, both in ourselves and as we relate to our society. ( see I John 3: 11-4: 21)
Hopefully, what has been said gives a big picture view of the Christian life. Also, hopefully what is conveyed is that this life is not a static one but rather a dynamic life which takes on a whole range of possibilities and all aspects of living – – which are what God wants for us to do since he is our Creator and he desires that we glorify him, a wonderful and natural response we can have to our giving and gracious God.
II. They deepening and growing effectiveness of Christ changing our heart
When we make the decision to follow Jesus we were aware, perhaps deeply aware, there were real issues in our life, issues involving our character and conduct. But once we became Jesus’ follower and we began to see real changes, we concluded that we really did have issues but now they are resolved. Now we might think we are in a much sounder position, for after all we can feel we are saved. You could feel comfortable and do not readily see new issues. You may have included in the better position a certain amount of church involvement, maybe some community efforts, and some devotional time. You may be generally satisfied where you are now in life. It is like, I have arrived. Yet you also know, if not clearly at least some sense tells you, that Jesus is not the type of Savior who gives you a once for all times certificate of the present status of your life. Jesus, you know. is very surprising in his expectations; and he could ask you to be and to do things you never dreamed of being or doing before you met Jesus. Jesus, you know, loves you since you have seen in his coming and living among us how much he wants to give real life, his life. So now you know that you want deeply to have in yourself all his qualities, qualities that you know are only partially developed in you. You also sense that life can go through many different ups and downs and you may be aware that you are not equipped to handle these developments and challenges. Given also that events might shake up a static view and that you may learn new information, its clear new changes could and likely will. come. In fact, you hear Jesus calling you to realize you need to open up your mind and heart and conduct a greater growth. Gratitude says this is the only right thing to do since you received so many good things from him already and you know his ways are better than your old ways. In all of these developments, Christ will be with us! ( 1 Peter 4; 1 Thessalonians 4: 1-12; Ephesians: 3: 14-21)
III. Moving toward maturity in Christ
Now that we know growth and change is basic to the Christian life, we will now look at particulars of growth and we will start at the heart and emotional and mind changes that will occur when we walk with Jesus. By making it clear that real growth in service does not come naturally or necessarily easily it is good to look at our heart and mind first of all. Our heart direction has definitely changed from only a self or family oriented self but we will also face challenges that will test our faith and will demand real sacrifice. Our old self that can be very self centered is still around and the world has not changed, which means we will be annoyed or angry or worried at times. Difficult situations may arise with our family life or health or our job while at other times it seems God has forsaken us or God has not so much forgotten us but is calling us to serve in ways beyond our old ways of living. We may likely discover that there are some real hang ups or even addictions in ourselves, and we may be affected by reoccurring negative thoughts with episodes of discouragement or even despair. Life is complicated in this world with its many tough situations let alone all the daily pains we will face.
Our faith will be tested but also deepened much beyond what we ever thought possible before. In one sense the issue is grounded on the bedrock of God’s existence and more importantly his ever living presence in our life. It is also grounded on those times when we experience a breakthrough in our situation or even more simply we allow God to come close to us – – we have and live with joy and peace of Christ in our heart. We are also learning that it is safe and good to allow God fully into our life – – we increasingly see how worthless our longings and desires are and how destructive they can be to our self and others. God has the best ideas in mind for us even if it means the loss of long held goals for our life or things we wanted to conquer to validate our existence. We simply learn that much of what we saw was misdirected or even wrong. We will also find it exciting and liberating to examine ourselves without fear because we know God loves us and he will not reject us if we are honest. The people around us may reject us if we if they know our whole story but God will never turn us away as we examine and seek to understand and change our life. The reason for this blessing is simple yet marvelous: Jesus died for sinners and he loves us unconditionally – – which will move us in the direction of real change –yet the change may come slowly but again God will be with us.
Turning to particular ideas found in Scriptures we find very moving and living concepts that deeply probe our heart if we allow them. First, as Paul says in Romans chapter 1: 5-12, faith is first to last and that without faith we will not be justified or maybe right before God nor will we be able to live the Christian life. He speaks of a faith in these terms because faith shows where our heart is centered, either in ourselves or in God and the spiritual. Paul also knows that faith produces energy to act positively even in the face of suffering or even in apparent defeat. Faith in God, who has plans and purposes for us for our good, sets the stage for major endeavors and also small act of kindness, and prompts going ahead in the midst of our doubts. Since God will provide relief, faith in acting toward other people is possible because God tells us to be bold; again he will be with us as we reach out to help other people. Faith also helps seize up our faith in relation to our need to ask ourselves do we trust God in life situations. If we are rooted in the faith built on God, we will see how much more we can do as our heart stops being so busy protecting ourselves.
Faith opens the door to inner growth and it can do so as we ask ourselves what specific quality or aspect of my life I should really want to see changed. Would it be to have a pure heart or greater concern for other people, or more sensitivity to other people’s situations? Whatever it might be, we should allow God to become the focus on how this will change should come about. Faith says God wants this for your life and he will give you the knowledge and the skill to work out the roadblocks while also helping situations where you need to seek his power to grow in the desired direction ( Luke 7: 1-10; John 14: 1-14; Galatians 2: 15-21; Hebrews 11.
Hope flows from faith and is nurtured by faith yet it is independent in the sense it has a quality all of its own. While faith is more of a determined mindset with a more fixed focus, hope is more uplifting and buoyant. It can run too far ahead at times and result in overly hasty action and be unmindful of bringing all before God or we also ignore wise counsel. Still hope is so vital to us to live boldly for God since hope inspires visions of real change. We also must note that despair can dampen our heart to such a agreed that we retreat into isolation. Hope brings us out of the dark cloud and surely this should be the case as Christians are the only people who can rightly claim hope of the future. Who but believers can hope for good to come out of all situations? Who but Christians could see beyond the grave to the future of eternal life with Christ. Who but followers of Jesus would place their hopes in the lives of other people who know not Jesus to the point of sacrificing time, money and emotional energy to aid their situation so as to help them to accept Jesus’ grace and forgiveness? We can turn defeat into victory and change our hearts toward others from skepticism to kindness with hope given to us by Christ, and we can know that hope will not disappoint us even though we must wait patiently. (Romans 5: 1-11; Colossians 1: 5-27; I Thessalonians 1: 2-3)
Hope will enliven our faith as faith pushes us toward godly visions and this in turns also propels and encourages the growth of love. Love, internally sustained by faith and hope, deepens them as it motivates and guides us as act in faith and hope. In many ways, all comes back and goes forth from true Christian love which comes from the love of God, for God is love (I John 4:8 ). Love completes and directs the determination of faith while hope now has a support or direction that love can bring. With our godly love, we are being moved to greater and greater love, both in our heart and attitude and most definitely in action. The wonder of love coming from God is that his love is what others will see since they will not see us as a lover but God as the lover.
Because Jesus walked among us, he breathed actual heart and compassion into us through his forceful and his unforgettable teachings, parables, and actions, which he brought together in the most significant act of human history, the Son of God dying on the cross for all of us. Now deeply etched into our consciousness, if we allow this to happen to us, love becomes our chief characteristic which means it is not self-seeking or self boasting but rather is hidden so that God can be seen and so that others will turn not to us but to God for substance in our life. Truly, a wonderful gift from God that we can become lovers of all of humanity and desire and do the best for everyone, not just our little circle of friends and relatives but for all the hurting children of this world.
Love covers a waterfront of human existence as to our motives, character and our actions; and the following, very briefly,, will tease us with the mystery of God’s love changing our self-centered hearts. First we must understand the source of love is not our emotions but a gift from God which is beyond mere emotions and is connected directly to the Holy Spirit in our life. God loves moves us to act in love and to think beyond matters of the law, and to do so not just for those next to us but to all people. It is an energizing source since it is God connected, and it can move us to act in ways we never considered in the past. We, for example, will come to love our enemies and we will seek their best and pray for them that good will come to them today. It will change our frame of reference from ourselves to other people, and we can actually be more concerned about other people – even people we do not know – than for ourselves. It also changes our decisions as to the use of time, who we associate with, and even how we see ourselves – namely, we will become much less self-centered, neither praising ourselves or condemning ourselves and instead really feeling blessed by God. All people can even become a blessing to us as we see that we love them for God and we will see it as God’s gift to us as he enables us to love other people. All this means that our God has prompted faith and hope and love in us from him so that we do good for others and so that we look forward to praising our God eternally ( see John 3: 1-16; I Corinthians 8: 1 and chapter 13; Ephesians 1).
So many other aspects could be name such as the role of knowledge and truth or specific aspects of living such as family and work, but hopefully this overview of the Scriptures provides the encouragement necessary for you to dig more deeply into the Bible and find your personal understanding of the word of God as you let God’s spirit guide and test you and question you as you put your findings into your living daily as you fully live for Christ.
Note other questions are part of the list of questions on the front page of the blog that fit the subject of Christian living. These questions are what are specifics Christian principles of righteousness and of moral and ethical living. And secondly what are specific things we can do as we walk with Jesus. A third very important question is what is the role of the Christian community and church in our growth in Christ and carrying out the mission of Christ.
Discover Yourself as You Discover God 