Your Real Life

October 13, 2015

Your Real Life

For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.

Colossians 3:3-4

In a small group recently, the question was asked, “What is sin?” After some fumbling around for an answer, someone put forth, “Doing something you know is wrong.” Of course, that answer then begs the question, “How do you know it’s wrong?” It has been my experience that our ideas of right and wrong have much to do with cultural norms, and thus vary widely in different countries, regions and areas.

I can suggest two guides to help us navigate these waters. First, ask yourself, in the doing of certain things, or in refraining from doing them, who are you trying to please? Whose favor or good will do you hope to garner? If it’s anyone other than God, then you are close to slipping in the sin pool.

Secondly, I suggest the answer to the initial question is both much simpler, and exceedingly complex. Sin is everything we do, apart from God, related to our working out the meaning of our life. That is a simple answer. However, it is also quite complex because it includes everything we think or do in our efforts to meet our needs for love, acceptance and self-worth.  

The Apostle Paul teaches us that we have died to this life, and our real life is hidden with Christ in God. Our real life is in the person of Jesus Christ. When we go anywhere else to validate the meaning of our life, we are missing life from God, and we are in sin.

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. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.