One with Christ

January 6, 2015

One with Christ

I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.

John 17:21

The Gospel of John records Jesus’ prayer for his disciples, which includes you and me! In his prayer, Jesus payed that we would be one with him so that we could be one with each other, and so that the world would believe in Christ through the testimony of our lives. This prayer is incorporated in the liturgy of the sacrament of Holy Communion: “By your Spirit make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world, until Christ comes in final victory, and we feast at his heavenly banquet.”

God’s process of forming Christ in us, so that we are one with him, takes many shapes and forms. One aspect of our willingness to participate in God’s process, is through our willingness to “submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Ephesians 5:21). Ouch! I’m immediately reminded of something I read in the Museum of Westward Expansion in St. Louis:  “. . . We had proceeded only a few days travel, when the American character was fully exhibited. All appeared to be determined to govern, but not to be governed . . .” (Lansford W. Hastings, Overlander). It is exceedingly difficult for us to submit to another person’s authority over us.

Yet, that is exactly what Jesus did. After he was separated from his parents in Jerusalem as a young boy, the scriptures tell us, “Then he returned to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them” (Luke 2:51a). He remained in Nazareth for at least another twenty years, submitted to the authority of his parents. Further, in the Garden of Gethsemane, he submitted his will to God, and later he submitted to the authority of Pontius Pilate.

Yes, submitting to others is exceedingly difficult. Just keep in mind that through this process, Jesus is making you one with him! Like John at the Last Supper, just lean back and rest your head on Jesus’ chest and hang in there!

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.