So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him...
This is where I landed in the Bible yesterday morning, and I didn't get any farther than this one verse. It's only half a sentence, but it gives me plenty to think about.
Let's look at it this way. How do you receive Christ Jesus as Lord?
- Via utter grace, with no reference to one's personal worthiness, either inherent or earned
- By asking for it
- Via personal connection in prayer (nobody else can ask for this or obtain it for you; you need to ask for it yourself)
- Completely on the Lord's terms
- Via childlike trust
I don't know if we really get that this is how we receive Jesus as Lord, when we first come to him. This is my understanding now, after a long time of reading the Bible, listening to good teachers, and thinking.
If we don't understand that this is how we receive him, likewise I don't see how we can understand that this is how to continue in him. This list is full of simple but hard things, things that really challenge our human self-reliance (not to mention our human selfishness).
Even though I am smarter about the truth of this list, it doesn't mean I've gotten a lot better at living according to it.
Thankfully grace is written in right at the start. Through the Father's patient teaching I have learned this is how you receive Jesus as Lord, and through his patient guidance I am learning how to live by these same ideas. Through his grace and generosity I have received, and I will continue to receive what I need in order to change.
So how do I do it? How do I live, acknowledging that Christ Jesus is my Lord? According to Colossians, I do it by the same means I received him in the first place:
- Via utter grace, with no reference to my own personal worthiness, either inherent or earned
- By asking for guidance and help
- Via continued personal connection in prayer
- Completely on my Lord's terms
- Via childlike trust
Amen; I pray for God's help to live more and more according to this pattern.
Have I missed anything? Would you add or delete anything from my list?