Calendar

LIFE IN CHRIST
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10
1 Thessalonians 5:10

Philippians 1:20-26

 

“…whether we wake or sleep,

we should live together with him.”

 

LIFE IN CHRIST
 
To be a Christian means that we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. But far more than just having an intellectual assent to the facts of the Gospel, we place our complete trust in the Lord and begin a life of faith in Christ. It is a lifelong relationship whereby we now enjoy a blessed union with Christ. It does not end when we die, but continues through all of eternity, for “whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him”!
 
Note that the sleep here is not referring to the spiritual slumber or slackness that Paul warned against in verse 6. Rather it concerns those who “sleep in Jesus” as described in 1 Thessalonians 4:14, referring to believers who are dead in Christ and who will be received into glory.
 
The promise is certain because Jesus has already died for us. Through His sacrifice, we do not have to face eternal death and damnation in hell, because He has paid the penalty for our sins. Instead, we can now enjoy the blessings of salvation, both in this life and in the life to come.
 
Therefore, every believer can presently enjoy this blessed relationship with Christ. It means that we are daily in communion with Him through prayer and the reading of God’s Word. It means that we are assured of His abiding presence in our lives and can rest in the promise that He will never leave us nor forsake us. Daily, we behold His beauty and revel in His goodness. We know that our lives are in His care, and there is nothing more that we need or want.
 
Yet, all these are but a foretaste of what is to come in eternity. Then, we shall be with Christ in person, which Paul said is “far better” (Phil 1:23). We will be freed from any sin that separates us from God and can come fully into His presence. We can enjoy full and complete communion with Christ without the things of the world to distract us and turn us away from Him. Is this a prospect that excites you? Only if we live with Christ in the present, will we look forward to death as a gain.
 
THOUGHT: Is Christ my everlasting delight?
PRAYER: Father, I thank Thee for the gift of Thy son Jesus who died for me, that whether I wake or sleep, I can live together with Him.

Search