I am really struggling with how Jesus Christ REALLY impacts the everyday life of normal Christians. It seems to me that most Christians see Jesus as just the doorway to God. Sunday is the day we go to meet with this God whom we met by asking Jesus into our life. That seemed to be the case yesterday. I went to a really BIG church yesterday in Houston. Over 20,000 people attend at five different locations. The choir and special singers at the location I was at sang beautiful songs to a God who seemed awesome to them. They sang about how this God can get them through tough times. Then a preacher appeared on an overhead video screen. I guess he was preaching somewhere, just not there.
He was preaching on Job and how he overcame tough times. He was able to 
overcome because he kept on hanging on to this God. The preacher took a clay pot and just threw it down, breaking it all over the stage. He said that’s what this God did to Job. He smashed his life to pieces, and then this God bet Satan that Job would hang on to Him! That seemed a bit wierd to me, but I could see the point of the preacher. In fact, most people could get the point. After all, we all get dealt a few lemons from time to time. Some more than others. We can let the lemon sour us or we can learn to make lemonade. Right? The message was very simple, compassionate, and made sense. BUT DID IT BRING LIFE?
Jesus Christ said that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. He is MY Way, MY Truth and MY Life. He also said that I could never come to this awesome God unless I come through HIM.
I understood the message about holding on to God, about letting Him make sense out of all the broken pieces, but I did not see Jesus. I want to see LIFE! And Jesus told me I must see Him to see LIFE. I want to do more than just hold on to God. I want to do more than get advice for how to handle problems. I want to have Life! I want to have His Life! I want to know His way, His truth, His Life. That only happens as I discover and embrace the Life of Jesus in the mundane, every-day events of life.
Jesus told Mary & Martha “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11) He wanted them to know Him, but they only cared about what He could do for them. In verse 32 they said, “If you had been here Lazarus would not have died”. So Jesus wept (vs. 33), because they did not understand it is not what Jesus does for us that impacts our lives, it is WHO HE IS! He is our LIFE! We can have no life apart from Him. He is not just someone to introduce us to God. He is not just someone we casually mention at the end of an opening and closing prayer. Jesus is our LIFE. We can not pretend to know Him on Sunday and NOT EXPERIENCE His Life on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday… Jesus is our LIFE, and His Life is meant to be as effortless as breathing.
Sure, anyone can get through the tough times simply by holding on to God. But NEVER limit yourself to a survivor mentality. That is not Jesus Christ! Jesus is so much more! He is not a Survivor, He is a THRIVER! Jesus is our resurrection as well as our life! His resurrection means we can REIGN with Him. We are reigning over our problems and difficulties. We are reigning even while simply driving to work! Instead of simply trying to hold on to life, Reign with His Life living through you! Jesus is the Lord of every situation, from success to failure, from health to disease. The only way to encounter His Life and allow His Life to be Our Life is to LET GO! Let go of what you think you need to do to survive. See Jesus as your life. Allow Him to reign over every situation in your life. Jesus is Life, and we must allow Him to be our life. The power of His resurrection will flourish in our hearts. Regardless of the pain and suffering and difficulties we encounter.
Job himself realized this as he wrote in Job 19:25,26 – “As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, And at the last He will take His stand on the earth. Even after my skin is destroyed, Yet from my flesh I shall see God.”
Even in the midst of his sorrows Job did much more than simply “hang on”. He thrived because his Life was totally tied up in the life of his Redeemer!
Don’t survive, THRIVE! Jesus is LIFE! His Life can be your life. Anyone can find the strength to hang on. How many of us have the strength to let go and trust Him? Let go of your situation and let Jesus be your life. He says “I am Your Way, I am Your Truth, I am Your Way!” If you want to overcome the difficulties of this life, let go and let ME be your life!
Loving the Word with the MudPreacher 