LIVE!

Over the past little while, I’ve been meditating on LIFE! What does it mean to be alive in Christ? I keep reading Ephesians 2:1-10 and there is such a huge contrast between who we were before knowing Christ and who we are now as followers of Jesus. It’s amazing!

Who were we before knowing Jesus? Who were we apart from Christ?

“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.” (Ephesians 2:1-3)

Dead. Lost. Overcome with sin. Defeated. Hopeless. Lonely. Sick. Deceived. This is life without Christ. This is who we were. We were dead.

BUT our amazing, gracious, merciful, loving, compassionate God did something incredible and now we are alive!

“Because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:4-10)

Wow! Pretty awesome, right? Here’s the thing though…I think that sometimes we forget about all this. We forget that we have been made ALIVE with Christ. We forget that we have been RAISED UP with Christ. We forget that we are SEATED WITH CHRIST in the heavenly realms. We forget about GRACE!

Too often, I don’t embrace the love, grace, victory, and life that Jesus has already given me. But God has been revealing LIFE to me and I want to fully embrace this real, full, abundant life. God has a plan and a purpose for my life. I want my life to be wholly about following Jesus - wherever, whenever, whatever, no matter what the cost. I just want to know Him more. I want to continually be amazed by His incredible love and grace. He is so good!

“The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).” (John 10:10)

LIVE! Live abundantly! Live fully! LIVE! LIVE! LIVE!