MY FAVOURITE VERSE
I have a surprise for you. My favourite verse is Galatians 2:20.
…Ok, if you know me or much about the ministry of Crossways to Life then that probably didn’t surprise you, knock you off your seat or cause you to spit out your morning coffee. (If it did I apologize.)
It has been nearly 10 years since I was sitting in my bedroom, frustrated with the Christian life and desperately searching for peace that Father opened my eyes to this incredible verse. Up to that point I did not understand the relevance of Jesus in my everyday life. I understood that my past was dealt with when my sins were forgiven and that my future was secured in that I was going to heaven one day. But neither of those were much comfort for my present as I struggled with life and its pressures. All that began to change when, for the first time, I read those beautiful words.
“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me.” (Galatians 2:20)
I know of no other verse that summarises what it means to live the Christian life today, and therefore is the most practical verse for everyday living in all of the New Testament. For in this verse we see that the old Ross, the dirty rotten sinner, the one who I used to be before I met Christ, was crucified with Him and he no longer lives. I am not in the process of dying, the old me doesn’t come back to life anymore. He is gone! And therefore I am free forever from that person. And I have been born again as a new and different person, one that is now righteous and acceptable. And the amazing part of all this is now Christ dwells in me.
My identity now and forever is ‘Christ in Ross’. A person that is united with the Sovereign God, Creator and Supreme Being of the entire Universe. That is who I am. And the life I now live, today, the part I now play to experience Christ living in me is to trust. To live by faith, depending not upon myself, but upon Jesus to live through me. So through me Jesus can love my girls the way only He can. It is by trusting Him that I discover the peace in the midst of the life’s storms that I so desperately seek. And this faith is in the one who loves me. That might just be the most incredible part of this verse, that I am loved by God. Not for what I do or who I should be, but for whom I presently am. How do I know that I am loved?
Because Jesus willingly gave up His life saying He would rather die than be without me. I am loved. And you are loved. Since you have put your faith in Christ then you too are a new person. So live by faith in Jesus, the one who loves you. Trust Him to live in you today, to be all that you need. Have a great day walking by faith.
In Christ who is our Life,
Ross