When Christ Is All We Have
When Christ is all we have, we have all we need.
I wonder how many truly believe this. With all the luxuries and pleasures that come with living in the day that we do, it’s hard to imagine a life without them all. Restaurants, theaters, iPhones, bookstores, Starbucks, Netflix, all ingrained and integrated into our lives. I of all people know the horror and rage that comes over an individual when the WiFi goes out or KFC forgets to give you a spoon for your mashed potatoes (which happens ALL THE TIME). Our reality is based on our comfort. When our comfort is disturbed, reality is not as it should be.
Self Realization
Yet I wonder what would become of us if our pleasantries were to leave? How would we respond if everything we held dear was taken away? What would we say to being called to give everything away to the poor? If I’m going to be honest with myself, I think it would be unbecomingly difficult. I enjoy my comfort. I enjoy my life with its pleasantries. I enjoy having the options of a 4:30 or 6:00 viewing of the Last Jedi. In some ways, there is great comfort and security found in these things for us. We begin to define ourselves by our likes and preferences. Yet if it were all taken away, were would we be? Would our lives actually be different? Would we better or worse off? What if something deeper, more important was to be taken from our lives?
There are those in our Christian history that gave everything for the sake of Christ. There are those that counted literally everything in their lives as lost in comparison to Christ. They lived, sacrificed, were tortured and eventually killed all for the cause of the Gospel. They knew something. Something very important. They knew He was worth it. They knew that with Christ, we have all we need. There is no other that we must define ourselves by. There is nothing else that will ultimately give us the peace and satisfaction that we crave and seek elsewhere. The long and short of this post is simply this. What do we hold above Christ in our lives? Is He truly, at the end of the day, all we need in this life? Can we say in complete honesty with ourselves, that if all we held dear were to be taken away, would we still have all we needed?
How Do We Do This?
I want to be at this point in life. I want to be able to say with the martyrs that, if God were to take all from me, it would be well with my soul. How do we get to this point in our lives? I think it begins with making Jesus Christ the ultimate part of who we are. Look at Him and make Him more important than anything in your life. Think of the sacrifice He made on your behalf and realize that your life in now to be lived in His service. Know that He is the most wonderful, satisfying, and incredible aspect of reality itself. See Him with your mind and your heart and remember His promises to you. This is how we begin to make Christ ultimate in our lives. He must be supreme. He must be everything to us. If all were removed from your life, would you still see Christ as enough to complete you? Would He be there as the source of satisfaction and definition? Can we truly say with the martyrs that Christ is all we have and therefore all we truly need?
Remember…
Please know that this is not a bash on luxuries or blessings that the Lord has given to us. He is a gracious God that finds pleasure in His people experiencing His blessings. Yet, there is no greater blessing than Christ. He is worth all that we have. The Lord, in His sovereignty, has called some people to give all they had for the sake of Christ and His gospel. They gave their very lives and counted all to be nothing in light of who Jesus is. There may be a time that the Lord calls us to do the same. It may not be as large of a scale as having our lives taken. More than likely it will be as subtle as a group of friends, different types of entertainment, or food or drink that the Lord calls us to give up. Whatever the case, the question is are we ready and willing to do so? Are we willing to give our vices, our enjoyments, our pleasure, or our means of comfort? I believe that the more we see Christ as all we need, the more we will find that our desire for this world and its pleasures becomes fleeting. Everything becomes small and insignificant when placed in front of Christ. When we make Christ big in our lives, the rest becomes very small. When Christ is supreme, we are truly living in the way we were designed to live. So whatever it is that the Lord calls to to give for His sake, remember that Christ is worth it and so much more than you could ever give. Remember that He is with you to the end of the age. Remember that He is sovereign and in control. Remember that you will always lack nothing when Christ is at your center. Remember that when Christ is all we have, we have all we need.
