Take O Lord

Meditations for Ragamuffins

September 25, 2023

Take O Lord

“So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day.”

2 Corinthians 4:16 (NRSV) 

The Apostle Paul had but one ambition for his life, and for the lives of all the followers of Jesus: “The life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh” (2 Corinthians 4:11b NRSV). Paul had many ways of talking about this reality for the Christian. Sometimes he talked about putting on Christ, or living in Christ, or Christ living in the Christian, or life in the Spirit. In my life, I call it seeking to make the life in Christ my way of life. How ever we refer to this truth, the goal is the same; we want the life of Jesus to be made visible in our mortal flesh.

The Gospels reveal to us the heart of Jesus. We see his compassion, and we see his unwavering allegiance to the Kingdom of God. We see his gentleness and his unconditional acceptance of the last, the lost and the least of people. We see his zest for life, his true enjoyment in being with people, and we also see his uncompromising commitment to the will of God, regardless of the cost. Paul wanted the world to see those very same attributes in his mortal life. Saint Paul wants us to want that for our lives.

How do we achieve this goal for our lives? We don’t; God does! “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:13). Our part of the process is to be acutely aware that God is actively working to form Christ within us. Secondly, we learn to cooperate with God in His process.

My Takeaway: How does Jesus become visible in our mortal flesh? I saw this suggestion recently in one of my social media accounts:

“When Jesus was tempted, scripture flowed from his lips.

When Jesus was challenged, scripture flowed from his lips.

When Jesus was crucified, scripture flowed from his lips.

One of the ways to live like Jesus is to internalize scripture,

so that when we are cut, it spills out.”

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2023 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.