Jesus is All We Need

My wife Laura has been reading through The Saving Life of Christ by Major W. Ian Thomas.  So many conversations we have had of late involve faith in Christ and the crippling effect of unbelief.  Yesterday we discussed our tendency as humans to ask for what God has already offered.  Minutes after talking over the subject, Laura returned and read this quote from The Saving Life of Christ on page 136:  "Remember, He does not give you strength - He is your strength!  He does not give you victory - He is your victory!  He cannot be your life without being all you need, for "in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.  And ye are complete in Him" (Col. 2:9-10a).  Then count upon the fact - and stop asking for what you have!"

For some of us, we trust in God for our justification but think our sanctification is up to us.  Obedience to God is a necessary hallmark of true faith, for good works will always accompany legitimate faith.  One of the best works is to stop relying upon ourselves or our "works" and looking to Jesus to supply our need, even when we face seemingly insurmountable difficulties.  One of John Wesley's favourite passages to preach from was 1 Corinthians 1:30-31, which flows in the same vein with what Major W. Ian Thomas plainly stated:  "But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God--and righteousness and sanctification and redemption-- ³¹ that, as it is written, "He who glories, let him glory in the LORD."   Jesus is our wisdom, our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.  He truly is our All in All!

When we take God at His Word - no matter how we feel, no matter how improbable or impossible a situation might appear to our natural senses - we set our feet upon the surest ground:  an eternal, immovable Rock of Salvation.  Any other path which deviates from the Word of God, no matter how certain it may appear, is shifting sand which cascades into a chasm of certain ruin.  If a Christian remains in the middle of God's will, he cannot venture "out on a limb."  Faith in God is not like a child climbing a tree, with every movement towards the top becoming more precarious and dangerous.  Faith in Christ brings a man to his knees, a place where the potential to fall and suffer injury is reduced to nothing.

The words of Hebrews 12:1-3 are appropriate in any case:  "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ² looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls."  Let us look to Jesus for the abundant life intent on receiving even as He has promised us:  not a life quantifiable by health, wealth, fame, comfort, or social status, but a joyful life that endures for the glory of God for eternity.