Author: Ernest

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The Life of the Truth

“It is not that we hold the truth; it is that we have the life of the truth.” T. Austin-Sparks, The Essential Newness of the New Creation

Jesus had to pass through Samaria. Exhausted, he sat down by a well of water. At the same time a woman arrived from a nearby village to draw water. After a brief conversation, she dropped her water-bucket and sprinted back to the village proclaiming, “Come and see a man who told me all that I ever did!”

What was the power of the message of Jesus, to have such an impact on this woman? What was the power of her one-line message to her fellow villagers that compelled them the way it did?

First, there was the utter improbability of their meeting. Jews, as Jesus was according to ethnicity, avoided contact with Samaritans by traveling around rather than through their territory. And if a Jew found himself face-to-face with a Samaritan, he certainly would not initiate a conversation. A Jewish man, furthermore, would not address any woman in public, let alone a woman of Samaria. Jesus set aside all these conventions. He shared his Father’s love with all people impartially. 

It seems that this woman also had reason to avoid contact with others, seeing that she chose to visit the well outside of the usual times—morning or evening. Her expectation was that she would see nobody at that well. She never imagined that the recurring need to fetch water would that day change her life dramatically for the better. 

Second, there was the person of Jesus. He embodied love, yes, but also joy and peace and kindness and humility. He spoke with grace. He had been trained to deliver a word in season to those who were weary. Although he was righteous and never condoned evil, he did not use righteousness as a weapon. His personality was inviting. The Father had taught him to be the ultimate Witness. As Jesus told Philip, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).

Every witness has a testimony. The conversation of Jesus with this woman was profound, touching on truths historical, religious, and personal. Jesus conveyed each revelation with love. The encounter culminated in his revealing himself as the Messiah, the promised King. 

Each factor contributed to the ultimate effect of Jesus’s meeting. The shocking circumstance of the meeting itself, the manifest godliness of the witness, the content of his testimony—all these led to the woman’s change of heart. She was inclined to believe the claim he made when he revealed his identity. She forgot her shame. The influence of Jesus turned her from a recluse into a witness. It inspired her to use her own disreputable past as a testimony. “Come and see a man who told me all that I ever did, and that God still loves me! Who can this be but the Christ?” 

Her message electrified the town. This was at a time when the testimony of a woman would not stand in court. Yet many of the villagers came out to see for themselves. They then had their own experience with Jesus, confirming the truth of the woman’s message and bringing them to believe in Jesus as Messiah. 

When Paul visited Corinth, he recalls that he “did not come to proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:1-2). The phrase “testimony of God” is also translated “mystery of God” or “secret of God.” The authentic witness of God testifies to Jesus Christ in some new, previously unknown, aspect. The truth of the testimony is backed by the very life of the witness. That was the power of the preaching of the woman of Samaria. That is one aspect of God’s transforming work in our lives as well. He empowers us with an effective expression of the life of Christ among His people and in the world. 

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The Furnace of Affliction

“Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another” (Isaiah 48:10-11).

T. Austin-Sparks has something to say about the furnace of affliction, in the second chapter of his book The Essential Newness of the New Creation. It gave me clarity on the subject. I have to say that I found this entire book to be foundational. Just my opinion, but I wish I had read the book much earlier in my Christian life! Here is the quote:

The furnace of affliction is for those who by faith are in Christ. What happens in the furnace of affliction? What is it that is dealt with in the fire? Is it you, and is it I, that are refined in the fire? Are you refined in the fire? Am I refined in the furnace of affliction? I say, No! emphatically NO!! If we say, Yes! well, let us look at the furnace of affliction, the fire with the metal in the crucible. What are you doing with that metal? Well, you say, you heat the fire intensely and all the uncleanness, the corruption, comes to the surface; this is skimmed off, and when that process has been carried through to its end, there is left pure gold! Then if you say that is you or that is me you will have to abandon your doctrine of total depravity, and you will have to come back to the place where you say there is good in us, after all! You will have to say there is good and bad in us, and the furnace of affliction is to get the badness out of us and leave the goodness! Is that true doctrine? No! The furnace of affliction is not for the removal of the bad out of us so as to leave the good that is in us, and secure it! Then what is its purpose? Is it to refine Christ in us? We need not discuss that! Christ needs no refining! What is it for? It is to divide between what is us in fallen nature, and what is Christ, and to get rid of the one in order to give full place to the other! The furnace of affliction is the application of the Cross to the getting rid of you and me, in order to leave the whole place for Christ. It is the measure of Christ that God is after, not to cut in between the good and bad in us, but to cut in between what is Christ, and what is ourselves.

This explanation reminded me of the experience of the three young men recorded in the book of Daniel, chapter 3. To remain faithful to the living God, they placed themselves in the position of being thrown into a “fiery furnace.” The earthly king who ordered their execution was so angry at their defiance that he even cranked up the heat of the furnace. The young men fell bound into this center of intensity. But they didn’t die. Instead the fire released them from their bonds. They walked freely within the furnace and didn’t seem interested in leaving. Not only that, but a fourth person appeared with them, having the likeness of a “son of the gods.” The three did exited the furnace only when asked to do so. Unharmed. No singed hair. No smell of smoke. Promoted to another plane of existence.

They didn’t know it until they tumbled in, but that fire was for them the love of God. They thought, beforehand, that the furnace was something that God might deliver them from. Instead, it liberated them and brought them into the presence of the pre-incarnate Christ. And it made them witnesses to God for His glory, testifying to the earthly king and everyone who gathered to see their execution. In the same way, when we fall into our own fiery furnace, what do we lose and what remains? Who is in there with us? And, who is observing from the outside?

Peter wrote a letter to suffering Christians. He asked them not to be taken by surprise: “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you” (1 Peter 4:12-14).

So, thank God for another day in the furnace of affliction, which really is a manifestation of His love and leads to His glory.

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Why Write about Jesus?

When I began to blog on the topic of personal transformation, I was acting on the recommendation of a mentor. I have kept at it for three years now. In 2022, and so far this year, I have posted less frequently. This happened not because I’m running out of ideas, but from numerous distractions that prevent me from turning ideas into text. All this has forced me to think about the value I place on my mentor’s advice. Why write about Jesus and his transforming power?

A good starting point is the early Church. Immediately after its birth on Pentecost, the apostles began to proclaim Jesus as Savior and King. When the religious authorities tried to stop them, Peter and John replied, “we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20). Even under threat of persecution. And now, those of us who have known the transforming work of Jesus, how can we help but direct the attention of others to him? Our testimony may take various forms, of which writing is one.

Another thought has to do with the nature of the believer in Jesus Christ. Now that the Spirit has come for all believers, we have a common fund of knowledge about our Lord. Prophecies in the Old Testament predicted this (for example, Jeremiah 31:33-34). The indwelling life of Christ through the Holy Spirit is a promise to all of us: first given to Jewish believers (Acts 2:38-39), then to believers in Samaria (Acts 8:14-17), and then to the Gentiles (10:44-48). Incidentally, this progression maps onto Jesus’s last words to his followers prior to his ascension (Acts 1:8).

Although we all hold a common knowledge of our Lord, there are also things that He uniquely gives to each of us as we are open to Him. Each one has singular experiences, insistences in spirit, and revelations for the edification of the Church. We should not necessarily keep them to ourselves. In many cases, God intends for us to share them, weighing them in the company of other believers, to promote understanding and avoid error (1 Corinthians 14:26-32). In Philippians 4:8-9, the apostle Paul invites the believers to notice Christ all around them, and think about what they are seeing. He issues this invitation in the context of a congregation of believers. Their experiences are meant to be considered first by individuals and then shared among the group. He then presents himself for their consideration—have they seen Christ in him? Have they been living out of that Life?

It’s all about Christ and the Church. The considerations that occupy us will come out. The Life that is within us will shine out. T. Austin-Sparks makes this observation with reference to the passage in 2 Corinthians 3:18 (“And we all, … beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another…”). Here is the quote:

You become like that which obsesses you, which occupies you. Is that not true? You see what people are occupied with, and you can see their character changing by their obsessions. They are becoming like the thing which is obsessing them; they are changing; they are becoming different. Something has got a grip on them; they can never think about anything else, talk about anything else; and it is changing their character. Now Paul said, “For me to live is Christ – being occupied with Him.” It is the wrong word to use, but nevertheless it would be a good thing if He became our “obsession,” our continuous occupation. As we steadfastly fix our gaze upon Him, the Spirit changes us into the same image.

[T. Austin-Sparks, Men Whose Eyes Have Seen The King ]

We can share that which the Lord has accomplished by His transforming work in our lives. Writing about it makes it available outside our immediate circle. Anyone who is interested can read and consider. If what we write rings true to them, if it fixes their attention on Jesus Christ, if it is confirmed to them by the Holy Spirit, they may become more occupied with Him. They may experience a greater degree of transformation.

These reflections also speak to me. They make it clear that my occupation with Him should rise above all the distractions of the present time.

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I Have Found a Man

The Father says, “I have found in Jesus a man after My own heart, whose will is to accomplish all of My will” (Acts 13:22-23, John 4:34). A man to whom I can totally commit Myself because he is totally committed to Me. Over this man death has no legitimate claim. He will bridge the gap between Me and My estranged creation. He bears My exact imprint (Hebrews 1:3). He represents Me perfectly (John 14:9). Here is the man in whom I am well pleased (Matthew 3:17, 17:5; 1 Peter 1:17)!

Humanity says, “We have found a man who told us everything we ever did….” And although he knows us thoroughly, he still loves us. “Can this be Messiah” (John 4:29)? We found, in Jesus, the one whom our soul loves (Song of Songs 3:4). He is a man to whom we can abandon ourselves. He is the friend of sinners (Matthew 11:19); he sees no flaw in us (Song of Songs 4:7, 1 Corinthians 13:6). We have found one who is gentle and lowly of heart, and in discovering him we have found rest for our souls (Matthew 11:29). “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and the prophets wrote…” (John 1:45), the promised one, the stairway between earth and heaven (John 1:51). We have found our great High Priest (Hebrews 4:14) who is like us in every way yet without sin. He will enable us to go safely into the welcoming presence of the holy God. He will reunite us to the Father, from Whom we estranged ourselves long ago!

Jesus Christ, man and God, has accomplished all of this for our sake, and for the sake of the Father’s eternal purpose. “Worthy are you [Christ, the Lamb of God] … for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God and they shall reign on the earth” (Revelation 5:9-10). He ransomed us, yes! And what is more, he is transforming us into a kingdom and priests, in preparation for reigning on the earth. 

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A Revelation

Before I knew it I was sliding down the staircase, feet first toward a hard landing. I immediately realized I could not move my left arm. And I had intense pain in the shoulder. That’s how I ended up in a local Emergency Room on a Saturday evening. As you might expect, no beds were immediately available and the waiting room was nearly full. My wife checked me in. Before long we had a visit with the triage nurse. After she finished assessing me and my dislocated shoulder, she allowed us to remain in her triage room. We appreciated the kindness.

Meanwhile, my pain was breathtaking and getting worse. By the time the busy ER physicians were ready to relocate my shoulder, about four hours elapsed. Until then I had no relief. All I could do was breathe through the pain, and groan. But inside I was at peace. I was thinking about my Lord Jesus on the cross, suffering for me, and suffering much more intensely than I was. Fragments of old hymns were running through my mind, like “Jesus never fails, Jesus never fails. Heaven and earth will pass away, but Jesus never fails.” In the end, the medical team set my shoulder joint back in proper order. My wife, who had been there through the entire ordeal, drove me home in the wee hours of the morning.

In retrospect this was a great revelation to me. For one thing, it was the first time I have ever experienced an injury so painful. My wife describes this as another credit toward my education as a human being. The most surprising aspect of the whole event, however, was my response to the injury and to the period I had to wait for relief. Certainly, if this had happened a few years ago I would not have accepted it so calmly. My attention would have been more on myself and not so much on Christ. 

All the credit for this change, rudimentary though it may be, goes to Him. Apart from this adverse event I would have had no way of knowing how I might respond. Now I can see that He has gained some ground in me. I am grateful for this encouraging insight into His transforming power in my life. 

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The Work of God and the Works of God

I had an unusual experience after hearing a sermon. The subject was on believing in God and doing His works. I was so conflicted by what I heard that I went to the Lord seeking some resolution. And, during the night, He responded to my prayer. 

The two go together: the quality of our belief in God reflects itself in the quality of the works that follow. The sermon suggested that believing in God cannot give us the grace we need to do God’s works. We are familiar with the saying, “Faith without works is dead.” On the other hand, Jesus spoke about the relationship between works and belief in John 6:25-29:

When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

It’s interesting that the people asked about the works of God, plural. Jesus replied, “This is the work of God.” One work. It seems that all other works that fall in the category of “God’s works” are the outworking of this one work: belief. And it is not even a work that we do, because it is the work of God. It is a work that we allow God to perform in us.

Jesus elaborated on belief later in the same chapter, verses 35-37 and 47-58:

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.” 

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh. The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 

Here is where the discrepancy between my understanding of belief and the one advanced by the sermon I heard was resolved. I came to see that the effort we put into the eating and drinking, in a spiritual sense, the body and blood of Jesus—internalizing his life, finding in him the source of life—is the difference between superficial belief and true belief. True belief is not merely a mental assent. It is coming to him (verses 35 and 37) as he came down to us (verse 51). It is an active process, opening ourselves to God’s creating belief in us. 

Not only is belief the first of His works, it creates a new kind of life in us called “eternal life.” Once a rich young ruler asking Jesus, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” But even though he had obeyed all the commandments in the law of Moses, he could not accept the work that Jesus offered to him. Obeying the law cannot impart eternal life, only an active belief in Jesus that assimilates his life.  

One more verse, John 3:21. “Whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in Christ.” Or, as another translation has it, “But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see God at work in what they are doing.”

This closing quote comes from the book Glorying in the Lord by T. Austin-Sparks. It sums up the insight that brought me peace that night.

The Lord would teach us – and this is the lesson that my heart is bent upon learning, and that I would urge upon you to make your quest also–that the ground of assurance is not in our having decided for Christ, nor that we persist in the Christian life, nor that we feel strong, nor that we have certain ability as Christians and are able to do this or that. It is not the measure of our activity in the work of the Lord, nor any one of these things which constitutes our Christian life. These are simply the outworkings. The thing which constitutes us is that Christ is the foundation, and that we are inseparably linked with Him by faith. Everything else can be suspended as a secondary consideration until that is settled. It is as though God, if we may put it this way to try to simplify the truth, had given us His Son and had said to us: “In Him you have everything, and the first thing is not what you are, what you can do, or anything to do with you; it is what He is!” If only in the face of all you may see of a multitude of contradictions in your own life in weaknesses, and imperfections, and lack of attainment, you will persistently believe in Him as having it in Himself to bring you through to the end, you will go through in spite of all.

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The Gift of Christmas

For us this is the darkest time of year. Late sunrises, early sunsets and frequent dense cloud cover add to the personal challenges we face. All of these make us especially appreciative of the encouragement we receive by remembering our Lord’s birth. All around us people celebrate by exchanging gifts, but the gift that God gave us we can never match nor repay.

“If you knew the gift of God,” Jesus said to the woman at Jacob’s well, “you would ask of him, and he would give you the water of life.” Our Lord is Himself the Gift and in Him we receive other gifts.

Consider also what the apostle Peter has to say in the beginning of his second letter. Here is an excerpt: “His [God’s] divine power has given to us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires…. Therefore, my brothers [and sisters], be all the more eager to make your calling and elections sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Everything we need, God has provided for us in His beloved Son, culminating in our opportunity to enter His eternal Kingdom.

So, we are most grateful that Jesus Christ, the Light of the world, has come to enlighten our darkest days. We draw upon His life again and again. We depend on the very great and precious promise that our lives will become conformed to His. He sustains our hope through the challenges we face as we experience transformation.

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What God Has Prepared

I am grateful to God on this Thanksgiving Day.

However, as it is written: 
No eye has seen,
No ear has heard,
No mind has conceived,
What God has prepared for those who love Him.
(1 Corinthians 2:9)

I may not see—and often I don’t. I may not hear. My imagination is stretched beyond its limits. Yet God has made preparations for all who love Him, even me. More bountiful than the most elaborate dinner. He has determined it. He cannot be unfaithful. It is set in stone.

I know that You can do all things;
No purpose of Yours can be thwarted.
(Job 42:2)

This declaration of Job’s came toward the end of his long trial. God had transformed him from self-centeredness to God-centeredness. Nevertheless, his outward circumstances were no different. This is a statement of faith. And we know that faith is a gift from God. The faith of Job was in God’s ability to accomplish His own purpose. Even today we believe that there is a Divine purpose, and it will come to pass.

Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things 
and enter into His glory?
(Luke 24:26)

When I look back, I can see that every adversity God allowed in my life, from the unpleasant to the breathtakingly painful, was necessary. If suffering was necessary in Jesus’s life, it is even more of a necessity in our lives. Suffering tests the quality of our love, to prove that it has a foundation of faith. It reveals whether we trust God, or we will forsake Him when the going gets tough. He aims to develop in us a love that “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” The same kind of love that He found in Jesus. Suffering is God’s principal way of preparing us for all that is to come.

For the earth will be filled
with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
(Habakkuk 2:14)

I thank God for the revelation of a future in which His love and presence permeate the visible creation. He has prepared this glory to share with all who love Him.

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God’s Judgments

God, who made the visible and invisible realms, is the Legislator, Executor and Judge of His creation. Lately I have been reflecting on God’s judgments. As the apostle Peter wrote, “…it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God” 1 Peter 4:17.

We make decisions based on what we see. Jesus said, “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgement” (John 7:24). Right judgment, or righteous judgment, is honest, proper, and equitable. Not so with us before we experience transformation. Even as exemplary a man as Samuel, when dispatched to the house of Jesse to anoint the future king, allowed appearances to sway him. God, who knows our hearts, did not allow the prophet’s human judgment to stand.

God’s perspective differs from ours. He sees the big picture as well as all the details. He has an eternal perspective. He also perceives the thoughts and intentions of the human heart. “…the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:12-13).

As the result of this complete understanding, our God can render judgements that are true to His nature and to the eternal purpose that He has for creation. “The judgements of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether” (Psalm 19:9). He orchestrates world events, which appear to contradict His intentions, to bring glory to Himself and to elevate people who commit themselves to Him.

He even accommodates as humanity responds to His interventions. “If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it” (Jeremiah 18:7-10).

Tim Mackie covers this same ground, engagingly and in detail, in episodes 2-6 of his podcast, Exploring My Strange Bible. His subject is Jonah. Here is a link to the first episode in the series. We may be familiar with the story. However, the content of his presentation goes beyond anything else I’ve heard on the subject.

God’s judgements also point out where we don’t measure up to His standard—that is, Jesus Christ. All the ways that we are not conformed to the image of Christ in our inner lives and all the ways that we are not faithfully expressing the life of Christ in the world, God wants to resolve. This work of personal transformation often involves us in suffering. “I know, O Lord, that Your judgments are righteous, and that in faithfulness You have afflicted me” (Psalm 119:75).

Finally, God’s judgements have a goal: building a congregation. Psalm 1 compares the righteous, according to God’s assessment, to the wicked. The psalm begins with a solitary, blessed person, pointing to Jesus Christ. In the end, however, it alludes to a congregation of the righteous, from which the wicked are excluded. All these righteous ones share in the life of Christ, the holy One who also makes others holy. The outcome is a community, a family whose Father is God (Hebrews 2:11).

So, God’s judgments make distinctions, set things right, and remain true to His nature and His purpose. Those judgments transform us as individuals, inside and out. In God we find love, abundant grace and unwavering faithfulness. His judgments also unite us to others who share in the life of Jesus Christ.

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Gifts and the Giver

Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water” (John 4:10).

Jesus Christ is the gift of gifts. As Son of God, He offered Himself to the Father before the foundation of the world. In so doing He became the gift of God to us. “If you knew the gift of God… you would have asked Him… and He would have given…” God’s gift is Christ, and God gives all His gifts through Christ. The greatest gift is God’s love, embodied in Jesus. The gift that brings us to spiritual consciousness is faith. Our salvation is a gift (Ephesians 2:6). And His gifts never end, because in Christ we have eternal life.

In the life of the new creation, everything is a gift: “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness… he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature…” (2 Peter 1:3-4). As an example, holiness is a gift. “But as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy’” (1 Peter 1:15-16). Taken as a command, this is beyond our ability to obey. But taken as a gift we understand, “Because I am holy, and I have granted you holiness in My beloved Son, I therefore consider you to be holy.” 

Really, all gifts of God are one: Christ Jesus. “God will not give me humility or patience or holiness, or love as separate gifts of His grace… He has given only one gift to meet all our need: His Son Christ Jesus. As I look to Him to live out His life in me, He will be humble and patient and loving and everything else I need—in my stead” (Watchman Nee, The Normal Christian Life).

The opportunity to experience transformation is a gift. To whatever degree the life of Christ is on display in the way we live, we bear the image of the Living God. As we bear His image, we are His gift to each other and to everyone we encounter. “Be occupied with Christ, and the Holy Spirit will show you more and more in Christ with which to be occupied, and as He makes that livingly real, you will have something to give to others” (T. Austin-Sparks). 

Our being God’s gift directs attention back on God the Giver. That gift is a true testimony to the His power in Christ, that He can transform such people as us. That gift declares that humans actually can give God the opportunity to reveal His character in a visible way. That gift foreshadows, through us, what His Kingdom will be like on the earth.

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