I want to pick up on a thought I had during in the “Remaining In” blog of 11/30/2006. In that blog, I discussed how Jesus, when he was on earth as a man, spent his entire life glorifying God. He purposed his whole life to whatever the Father’s will was.
Galatians 2:20 (New American Standard Version)
20″I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”
Two thoughts:
- I have died (i.e. crucified) and Jesus lives in me.
- Jesus Christ never changes. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow (for eternity) (Hebrews 13:8)
Grab your socks here… If I am “Remaining In” and let Jesus live in me, and if Christ never changes, then my life should reflect Jesus and be consistent with his life on earth. In other words, I ought to be (through Christ’s power and not my own) glorifying God and purposing my life to whatever the Father’s will is on earth.
I have some friends who say “I need someone to be Jesus with skin on” when they need ministering to, or when they need to be prayed for, or loved and encouraged… Although it’s said in pseudo-jest, there is an underlying truth that makes it so powerful. I AM TO BE JESUS to this lost and dying world.
Let’s break down Galatians 2:20…
“I have been crucified with Christ…” I am dead. It is not “me” anymore. I have given up my physical self to Hello? I am dead. It obviously needs repeating (alot) that what I want and what I need are no longer relevant.
“… it is no longer I who live…” Christ’s rule and reign in my life. I have voluntarily yeilded to Him.
“…but Christ lives in me;” It is ALL about what Christ’s life on earth was about – glorifying God and purposing to do the Father’s will on earth.
“… the life I now live in the flesh…” Although I am dead, my flesh still roams this earth until Jesus has fulfilled his purpose for my flesh-shell.
“… I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself up for me.” This is personal. Jesus died or me. If I were the only person on earth, he would have died for me. However, I would have to have been the one to condemn him, beat him, mock him, drive the nails into his hands, crucify him, and bury him. But he would have done it willingly.
So what was Jesus’s life about? What is the pattern for what Christ wants to live out in my flesh-shell? He was not about judgment (John 12:47) or condemnation (John 3:17) but forgiveness and love, expressed in truth and a life of freedom (John 10:10 NAS).
I encourage you to read John 17 in the Message Version. It is so rich. Pay attention to Jesus’s prayer. I think you’ll get the picture of what our model is and what we should aspire to let Christ live out in us.
Every day, every hour, every minute, every moment all comes down to a choice. We either chose let Christ reign, or we chose to kick him out of control.
Not only do we all need to be Jesus with skin on, … we all need a Jesus with skin on.
I need someone I can be vunerable to with. I need someone to hold me accountable to my walk. I need someone to pray with me. James chapter 5 says “Confess your sins to each other, and pray for each other, so that you may be healed.” I heard a wise man say – “we need someone to check under the hood and see if we’re hittin’ on all cylinders.” (If you don’t understand the mechanic analogy, see definition 3 in this link…)
We’ve got to keep ourselves full of Jesus, which means we have to get rid of all the “non-Jesus” in our lives. I was at a recent Mens breakfast and heard teaching referencing this very topic.
Patrick Morely, in his book “Man In The Mirror“, says this: “We all want more of Jesus, but the problem is we don’t want to subtract anything.”
A friend of mine, Richard Henderson had some great bits of wisdom about this.
“We are all 100% full. What are you full of? If you feel empty, it’s because you are full of stuff that leaves you empty.”
“If we’re 100% full, then to get more Jesus, we have to get rid of other stuff.”
“If we don’t want to let go (of our non-Jesus stuff), then we really don’t want more of Jesus.”
“The things that aren’t of Jesus, detract from our manhood and make us boys. Our job is not to be boys.”
Take Aways:
- Be Jesus with skin on
- Find a Jesus with skin on
Running after Papa…