Who is Jesus for You?

A facebook and personal friend recently asked me for a favor.  She was assigned the task of asking a question of 5 people.

"Who is Jesus for you?" she asked.   What a great question!

I started to write a canned response but felt led to search my heart.

Our Sinless Life?

Paul, in the ninth chapter of his second letter to the church at Corinth, is reminding the Corinthian churches of a gift they had proposed for the believers in Jerusalem. He ends this reminder with the declaration: "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" (2 Corinthians 9:15).

His reference to God's grace and the gift of Christ as "indescribable" is a powerful reminder to us of what was done to release us from our weighty sin.

There is much theological debate on original sin and on the subject of whether or not a believer can/should/must live without sin. I don't intend to resolve that debate. If the theologians have been (for centuries!) struggling with the apparent contradictory scripture on this subject, I can only conclude that this debate, like a parable, will serve to cause us to dig deep and examine the matters of our own heart.

If we side with those who say that a sinless life is necessary for salvation, perhaps our hearts demand an accounting of others' actions as we stand in judgment. Clearly, Jesus cautioned against this (Luke 6:37). This could serve to shame us in our own faults or lead us to pride. Many seem to fall (publicly) because of this stance. However, if we favor an acceptance of sin in the life of a believer, we settle for a lower nature. This liberality is dangerous, too.

I bear witness to the writings of one of Jesus' dearest friends, the Apostle John, in his discussion on the matter (1 John 2). He, at once, recognizes the pursuit of holiness as good while acknowledging our Advocate in the case that we fail in the pursuit.

At any rate, our gift to Him of a sinless life (however possible!) can never compare to the "indescribable gift" of His Son to us.

Speak UP!

It's no surprise that our faith is also referred to as our confession (Hebrews 10:23).

Romans 10:10 says, "... with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

James emphasizes the importance of our words (James 3:6-12).

Solomon goes even farther, "You are snared by the words of your mouth; You are taken by the words of your mouth" (Proverbs 6:2).

David knew the significance of our speech when, in prayer, he said to the Lord, "Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips" (Psalm 141:3). And, "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer" (Psalm 19:14).

The Word is God's seed and He sows His Word in our hearts when we read and meditate on it. If we allow Him to sow good seed through His Word, we will begin to think His thoughts.

Our thoughts are our seed and our lips sow the seed when we speak.

Our words are the confession of our faith and represent our understanding of who we are. We paint a picture of ourselves with our words. "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he" (Proverbs 23:7), and "... out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks" (Matthew 12:34).

Fill your heart with what God says about you and what He says about Himself. Speak UP from that abundance. Agree with God!

If we speak words of fear, we neglect what He says about His protection and we become fearful. If we speak words of doubt, we contradict our confidence in Him and we lose faith. If we speak words of failure, we nullify our assurance of His victory and we accept failure.

The Good News is THE OPPOSITE IS TRUE, TOO!

Speak UP! Sow what He says back into your situation and into others' lives through your words. It's not magic, it's the Word - the Christ - in you!