The heartbeat of Galatians 2:20 is the essence of following Christ, and that is all that is essential to live our lives as believers. But, until we grasp that as the key to the mystery of Christian living, we have not graduated from the preschool level of the Christian life.
Noted pastor and writer Ray Steadman (who wrote that great challenge to the church called Body Life) summarized this truth when he taught these words to his congregation:
People who equate orthodoxy with authenticity find it hard to even consider the possibility that, despite the correctness of all their doctrinal positions, they may have missed the deepest reality of the authentic Christian life.
But we must never forget that true Christianity is more than teaching; it is a way of life. In fact, it is life itself. "He who has the Son has life," remember? When we talk about life, we are talking about something far more than mere morality, far more than doctrinal accuracy.
Life is a positive quality, not a negative description of what we fundamentally are, not what we are not.
The eternal life that Jesus brings to us is radical, not superficial. It is humble, not self-promoting. It is compassionate, not indifferent. It is courageous, not timid or retiring. It is a far cry indeed from the mild compatibility, agreeability, and affability that pass for Christianity in thousands of churches across the land. In fact, the Great Imitation is so widely accepted as genuine Christianity that the real thing is often regarded as a threat or a heresy whenever it appears."
Each of us can measure our life’s worth by the degree to which Christ is followed! But as our text reminds us, not only are we to be Christ’s followers, our lives are also to slowly become a pattern for others to follow!
From GEM-28b – Following Christ is Living in Him (080629AM)
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