June 1, 2017
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world…But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions…{Ephesians 2:1, 5}
I know the need for comfort and the pull to get it from someone or something that is as earthbound as we are. How we believe we need something tangible to fill our hungry soul.
I know how easy it is to fall into a comfort zone of doing the minimum in my relationship with God, and with others. I am familiar with falling into old patterns, with doing what comes naturally.
I get how easy it is to lean into gossip, the pull of secrets. How backbiting can be made to look like concern for someone. Believe me, I know how compelling it is to justify our flesh.
I know the craving to be accepted, to be loved, to be thought well of by others. I know what it is to compare myself to others in an endless chase to be on the inside not on the outside. I know how hard it is to remember my true identity, to walk in it and live by it.
I know what it is to live like I’m dead.
We are citizens of another realm. The breath of heaven is in our lungs. The voice of God is ours to hear, the power of His Spirit dwells within us and we carry the authority of Christ. Darkness is no longer a familiar place, for we are now children of the light. We are alive in every sense of the word. We can bring life wherever we go, speak life over others. Build up instead of tear down. Find our comfort in the God of all comfort. We need never question our identity again, for we can be a people who know who they are and to whom they belong. We know that we have been fearfully and wonderfully made and cannot nor need not be compared to anyone. The attention and affirmation of others is no longer something we need. All of our needs are met by our Father, all of our fountains are in Him. We are salt and we are light and we carry in us the goodness, compassion, and love of God. He has made us alive, and alive we will ever be.
Beloved, today, do not live as though dead. That is not who you are.
Karla Jo Wasion 