Christ in Me
The indwelling Christ is the hope of glory for every believer. As we are conformed daily into the image of the Son, He reveals His glory in us and through us. The more we become like Him, the more His glory is revealed. God has hardwired every individual in existence to uniquely manifest Christ.
Glory is the revealed imagination of God. Before we were even born, our entire lives existed in God’s imagination (Psalm 139:16; Jeremiah 1:5; Ephesians 1:4). Our lives and our works are expressions of His imagination (Romans 1:20). He has called us to be a chosen people who have adopted His name and represent His kingdom on earth (1 Peter 2:9). Walking in the works He has prepared for us leads us to effortlessly manifest His glory (Romans 8:30; Ephesians 2:10).
Our existence is to glorify Him. This glorification, however, does not consist of meaningless worship, slavish obedience, or dead works (Psalm 40:6). The Lord is hungry for a Bride who is aware of Her identity as a lover. We are not slaves, but sons and daughters. We obey God because we love Him, not because we have to. Our love flows from a deep awareness of His love for us (1 John 4:19). Anything we do should come from a place of authentic love for the Lord.
Recently, I asked the Lord what brings Him the most pleasure. He responded: “When my children know who they are in me.” Jesus draws pleasure from us understanding our identity as sons and daughters because it is the fruit of the Cross. God’s love finds perfect expression in the crucified Christ. It is the ultimate expression of self-giving that expects nothing in return for all of eternity. Jesus’ entire purpose was to restore a lost humanity to divine relationship and sonship.
Awareness of this identity and high calling in Christ is what spurns us to choose Him. Glorifying God means choosing, in love, to offer our lives as a living sacrifice to Him (Romans 12:1). When we live like this, God flows through our choice and expresses Himself through us. As He renews our minds, our own desires become replaced with His dreams. He then empowers us by the Holy Spirit to fulfill these dreams. The intention is that our very lives become a unique manifestation of the fullness of Christ.
For all of eternity, we will continue to become more and more like Jesus, moving from glory to glory as we abide in intimacy and relationship with God. This glory finds continual expression when we act on the thoughts, dreams and visions Jesus gives to us. They glorify Him because they were His ideas to begin with! God is not satisfied when worshiping Him becomes empty, vain, and repetitive. He loves hearts that are attuned to His purposes and prepared to act on them. Manifesting Christ means yielding every area of our lives to His touch (Colossians 3:17).
