Living out Love
What would my life look like if I truly lived out my identity in Christ?
The Bible says:
If I am in Christ, I am a new creation and an ambassador for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17, 20)
I have been created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:24)
I am God’s daughter, an heiress to His kingdom (Galations 4: 6, 7)
Would it change the way I parent, treat others, talk to my husband, or spend my time? Would I view and maybe value myself differently?
Two years ago I caught a glimpse of what that kind of life could look like. I was at the funeral of my husband’s dear Grandma, Helen. Helen raised 8 children who gave her 26 grandchildren and 36 great-grandchildren. Helen spent her days serving in her home, church, and as a registered nurse. She enjoyed a long and (if numbers speak for themselves) fruitful marriage. She easily laughed to tears, cried when people were hurting, shared wisdom with patience, and loved her friends and family. She was far from perfect and her life was far from perfect, and she was the first to admit it. Helen’s story could end here and we could all applaud her life of service and selflessness, but that would be missing out on the most beautiful part about Helen. Helen loved Jesus. Helen knew Jesus loved her and she lived like she was loved. Her children experienced it, her grandchildren witnessed it, and now her great-grandchildren (including my own 3 daughters) will hear true stories about how Jesus’ love was their Great-Grandma’s greatest joy. Grandma Helen’s eulogy didn’t center on her role as Mom or Grandma. It told a story about a woman who knew who she was and Who she was living for.
I walked away from that day with a clearer perspective of what it means to live out your life in Christ. To serve, parent, be a wife, a sister, a friend with a purpose. I want to believe so deeply that I am a new creation, representing my Heavenly Father, being prepared to live with Him in His kingdom forever so deeply that every role in my life is filtered through those truths.
Consider this beautiful translation of Ephesians in The Message as you contemplate God’s love for you and what your life might look like lived out in Him.
“It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.” Ephesians 1:11-12
~written by Jena Meyerpeter
