He Is. He Has. I Must.

   My family is doing a study called Behold Your God by John Snyder. We have only begun the first week and I can already tell that it is going to be very good. I would like to share a couple points that were made in the last lesson we did.

   We began with a statement from Snyder,

"If anyone attempts to reduce the Christian life to one emphasis (evangelism, joy, personal growth, etc.), he is sure to become spiritually lopsided."

   What does it mean to be spiritually lopsided? Basically, our view of spiritual things is corrupt, crooked, and contorted. We have been called to many things concerning our walk with Christ, and believing that He has called us to only do one thing (such as personal growth) would be foolish.

   Say, for example, we believed that personal growth was the only thing He has called us to do. How would others hear about the Lord? We would be just like the world, selfish and only worrying about our problems. Personal growth is one of the key parts of the Christian walk, but it is not the only component. The same goes for any principle that is commanded in the Bible. That's why understanding the WHY of being called is so essential.

   Let's look at Colossians 1:3-23. We were told to put these verses into three categories:

• Christ is...
• Christ has...
• I must...

   To start off, let's look at verses 15-18 for the first category, Christ is. We find that He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, He is before all things, He holds all things together, He is the head of the church, He is the beginning, and He is the firstborn from the dead. Now, that doesn't encompass everything that Christ is, but it gives us a lot to think about. Essentially, these verses show us that Christ is in control and has all power and authority. 

   Let's move on to the second category, Christ has, and pick up in verses 12-14 and 20-22. He has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints of light (basically, eternal life), He has delivered us from darkness and transferred us to His kingdom, He has redeemed and forgave our sins (for those who are saved), He has reconciled us (therefore making peace with God by His blood), and made us able to be presented holy, blameless, and above reproach before God.  These verses depict how Christ has redeemed us and made a way for our relationship with God to be restored. That in and of itself is very powerful. 

   Lastly, I must. Head over to verses 9-12, and 23. What must we do? We are called to be filled with the knowledge of His will with all spiritual wisdom and understanding, to please Him, to bear fruit in every good work, increase in the knowledge of God, to be strengthened with all power, have endurance, patience, joy, and thankfulness, to be steadfast in our faith, and to uphold the gospel. Again, that's a lot of stuff we have to do! Thankfully, we can lean on Christ to do these things to not only grow in Him, but to do it the praise and honor of His name. 

   Now that you've been given some background on these three statements, let's find out what to do with this information. First, isn't it amazing to see what He is and what He has done? Second, let's learn about cause-and-effect. 

   What is cause-and-effect? To put it in the simplest terms, it is something that is or happens that leads to a response or action (He is; therefore, I must). I would like to share this excerpt from the book that really hit home in my heart. 

"We may be tempted to think of Christianity primarily as 'I must...,' but that is not the starting place. You cannot make yourself a child of God by doing things that a child of God does, any more than you could make yourself heir to Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain by walking around in royal clothes and waving kindly at people! The duty of the Christian life-the 'I must...,'-is caused by something else."

   It goes on to state that the "He has...," portion is not what Christianity is totally based on either because that is based on who He is. Therefore, the foundation of Christianity is He is. We have to grasp this concept in order to think about our duties in the right light.

   The last part of the study left us with two questions, and that is what I would like you to ponder as well.

1. Which of the three do you find yourself thinking about most often?
2. Do you see the shortsightedness of starting with "He has" or "I must" in Christianity?