A Christ centered life is still a human life, lived here on earth in the natural. What makes it different is who is influencing it. It is inspired, guided and shaped by Jesus, by his grace, by his life at work on the inside of us, and by his actions through us.
It is lived by the faith of the Son of God, and it does carry a price. John 17:14-16 reminds us that we are in the world but not of it. John 15:5 settles it plainly, apart from him we can do nothing. Galatians 2:20 shows us the exchange, no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.
Here is the simple truth we kept coming back to. You cannot live a Christ centered life without Christ. And knowing about Christ is the beginning of knowing Christ. Romans 10:14 asks how we can believe in someone we have never heard of. Hearing about him puts him on your radar. At the very least, you now know he exists. That is where it starts, but it is not where it stays.
Timothy shows us what a steady, lifelong, transformative Christ centered life actually looks like.
Acts 16:1-3. Timothy did not come from a perfect family, but he grew up in a home that worshipped God. And by verse 2, the brothers spoke well of him. His character had a good report.
2 Timothy 1:1-5. His name means honoring God, or valued by God. He knew about God through his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice, and then he went on to live it for himself. His journey was progressive. That is a big part of this, personalizing the faith we have received. Inherited faith has to become owned faith.
There was also a circumcision in his story, and circumcision speaks of putting away the old man, the flesh. Something had to be cut off for him to go forward.
And a question worth sitting with. If Jesus himself used the scriptures against the devil while he was on the earth, what makes us think we will survive without them?
Timothy was not a perfect man either. He had an ailment, and he was told to take a little wine for his stomach’s sake. So challenges do not disappear. We simply do not face them on our own strength. We live by the faith of the Son of God.
For reflection this week:
Who are the Lois and Eunice in your life, the ones who modeled a Christ centered faith for you? And how are you planning to pay it forward?
Be blessed. See you next week.