In Christ

In Christ.

Psalms 91:1
¹ Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. (NIV)

In the Bible especially, names mean something. When you think of a person, you think about their character so that when you speak of that person and use their name, you also have in mind the kind of person they are, not only their physical traits, but their personalities, and their spiritual qualities. The name represents the character.

To say that we are in Christ is to say that our character resembles His so that if our character had a physical manifestation, our silhouette would perfectly fit within His. Our love fits perfectly into the shape of His love. Our wisdom, our peace, our integrity, and our way of life would all fit perfectly into His.

When we first accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, this state of being in Him is credited to us by faith. Then the calling from God is not to live on that credit. Because He credited us with being in Christ when we were still so far fitting into His, God makes us eligible for all that He is. And there are no limits to the goodness of God. The joy of the Lord has no limit, the peace, the love as well. All that He is in you right now can be increased without limit. We experience all that He is in us to a greater level the more we begin to live into the character we were credited with.

In other words, when I first became a Christian, God gave me all of Him. As I become more like Him in thought, word, and deed, I experience Him in greater depth and intensity. This is God’s purpose in calling us to a holy life.

As we form ourselves into Christlikeness, God’s reward is rest. I don’t mean physical rest, but spiritual rest. Jesus said for those who are weary to come to Him and He would give them rest for their souls. Spiritual rest is the absence of fear, worry, anxiety, stress, anger, and the like. It is a contentment, a joy that cannot be stolen. It can be forfeited when we move out of Christ’s character. But as we remain in Him, He remains in us.

Prayer: Lord, help me to live into Your character through love for you, my neighbor, my enemies, and myself so that I might have spiritual rest. Amen.