Jesus, our Life?

 

 

“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.’” John 14:6

 

Is Jesus our life?

 

Is He our source of life? Do we feed on Him throughout each day and night? Do our hearts beat for Him? Do we worship Jesus?

 

John writes, “In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men” (John 1:4). Do we see all things in, and through, the light of His life, the life that He gives to us?

 

In John’s first letter he writes of the “Word of Life,” “and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us…” (1 John 1:1 – 2).

 

Jesus says to the Father, “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” (John 17:3).

 

When people are in love there is often a glow about them, an excitement, an ongoing anticipation of looking forward to the next time they see their beloved. The hearts and minds of people in love are often consumed with feelings and thoughts for their beloved.  People in love hopefully know, and are coming to know, their beloved. That is, they are in a relationship with their beloved – they are coming to know and coming to be known.

 

For myself, there is nothing quite like seeing friends who have been married for many years love and care for one another; there is a special beauty in seeing a couple advanced in years holding hands in a restaurant or other public place. As Vickie and I come to frequent medical facilities in our own advancing age, we often see other older couples together – walking with one another in the final season of life, supporting one another (sometimes literally), encouraging one another, being there for each other.

 

Do we see that Jesus is our Beloved? That our life is in Him, in our union with Him? Do we know Him as our life? Do we only speak about Jesus as someone whom we have never really met, or do we speak of Him because we know Him? Do we have firsthand knowledge of Jesus Christ?

 

I am writing to the professing church, for we have a Bridegroom who loves us, who gave His life for us that we might live by His life, a Bridegroom who has given us His Name – and yet we live without wearing our wedding ring, we live not as married to Christ, but rather in promiscuity – for we have many “lovers” – many substitutes for our Bridegroom…some religious, some political, some economic, some hedonistic – we have so many idols and so many excuses for them.

 

As I have said and written before, if we loved Jesus we would talk about Him to one another and to others – but we don’t. We speak of church, we talk of religious programs, we market leaders, we engage in therapy, and we justify our exclusion of Jesus in daily life – we wouldn’t want to offend anyone with the Cross…that wouldn’t be nice…whether they are within or without the professing church.

 

O beloved, there is something amiss in a marriage in which one spouse lives as if the other doesn’t exist.

 

Jesus desires an intimate relationship with us, with you. How intimate? As intimate as the Trinity (John 17:20 – 26). We are called to live securely in God’s love (Romans 8:28 – 39) and His peace (Romans 5:1 – 11) – the Bridegroom can indeed take perfect and eternal care of His Bride.

 

And so I ask again, is Jesus Christ our life? Whether we are in our early years of just getting to know our Beloved, or our advanced years of mature and deep relationship…or in between…is Jesus Christ our life? Are we married to Him? Are our congregations married to Him? Are our souls living in union with Him?

 

Shall we ask Jesus to reveal Himself to us as never before? Shall we ask Him to draw us closer and closer into a deep relationship with Himself?

 

Shall we ask Him to make us a Bethlehem, a House of Bread, so that others may partake of Him through us?

 

Might this be an Advent season unlike any we’ve ever experienced?

 

“Come Lord Jesus.”