The Beautiful Life
Two weeks ago, I began a short series of devotionals by pointing out a foundational principle at the beginning of Neil Anderson’s book, Discipleship Counseling. It is this: the message and method of discipleship [counseling] must be based on the finished work of Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:27-2:15).
I want to conclude this series by encouraging you to focus on the beautiful life that you have right now through faith in Christ.
In Victory Over the Darkness, Dr. Anderson writes, “Thank God for Good Friday, but what Christians celebrate is the resurrection on Easter Sunday. Too often we have left the Resurrection out of the gospel presentation. Consequently, new converts see themselves as forgiven sinners instead of redeemed saints who are new creations in Christ” (page 43).
The church that I’m apart of held a Good Friday service for the first time ever last weekend. Our church leaders did an excellent job of leading us to the cross and “setting the table” for us to remember the Lord’s death through communion. At the end of the service, we were encouraged to leave in silence as a way of commemorating the meaning and magnitude of Jesus’ sacrificial death, which paid the penalty for our sins. It certainly impacted me. And from the looks of it, many others found it to be a worshipful experience as well.
But then something interesting happened. Once we crossed the threshold of the exit doors into what was a beautiful West Virginia evening, an unplanned party broke out on the back lawn. Within minutes, kids were playing, parents were talking and laughing with one another, and even our church leaders joined in the fun with their families.
What happened? Were we so quick to forget the sobering truths about Good Friday—Jesus’ death and suffering—that we couldn’t even make it home before turning our frowns upside down and falling back into life as “normal”?
I don’t think so. At least not in this instance. I believe what happened was an expression of the beautiful life in Christ.
Celebrating our new life in Christ ought to be “normal”. Of course, it’s important we remember the Lord’s death as something that was necessary, meaningful, and historical. We ought to be deeply moved by God’s love as we dwell on it. But in Jesus Christ, we can relish in the resurrected life. It’s hard to play dead while we’re fully alive!
We read in 1 John 5:11-13, “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. The one who has the Son has life. The one who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.”
Through our faith in the risen Jesus Christ, we have a very beautiful life! It really is one blessing after another. So much so, that I can only scratch the surface of the blessings we now have in Him in this devotional.
The first blessing is peace with God. Romans 5:1 reads, “since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
A second blessing is access to God’s grace all the time. Romans 5:2a reads, “we have also obtained access through him by faith into his grace in which we stand.”
A third blessing is hope for the future. Romans 5:2b reads, “and we boast in the hope of the glory of God.”
A fourth blessing is purpose in trials. Romans 5:3-4 reads, “and not only that, but we also boast in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope.”
A fifth blessing is His love through the Holy Spirit. Romans 5:5 reads, “This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
A sixth blessing is confidence in our salvation. Romans 5:8-10 reads, “But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. How much more then, since we have now been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from wrath. For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life.”
Notice that I’ve only highlighted the first 10 verses from one chapter in the New Testament: Romans 5. That was purposeful.
Our beautiful lives in Christ result in one blessing after another…after another. These blessings are not abstract concepts or mere head knowledge. We can experience the reality of them in our everyday lives by believing the truth about who we are, who God is, and what He’s accomplished for us, and by engaging in regular repentance and forgiveness. Renewing our minds with these truths is a great place to start.
I encourage you to do this exercise for yourself. Read Romans 5-8 and write down all of the blessings Paul mentions that we have as new creations in Christ. Once you’ve done that, feel free to move on to rest of the New Testament. These blessings are yours because you are in Christ!
So, why can a party break out immediately following a solemn, Good Friday service? It’s because the meaning and magnitude of Jesus’ death and resurrection has granted us a beautiful life, and it ought to be lived to the full right now as Jesus himself said (John 10:10)!