He shall see his offspring. Isaiah 53:10
Sometimes our calling to live the Christian life can seem overwhelming. We are called to follow Jesus, but He lived a perfect life, so what hope is there of us being able to follow His example? Some think the Christian life is too difficult, so they hold back on commitment to Christ. “Following Jesus is beyond me. If I commit to this, it will only end in failure.”
But there is more to being a Christian than you doing your best to follow the example of Jesus.
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). The Christian life is Jesus living His life in and through you.
You are Jesus’ offspring. That means the life of Jesus is in you. That means the Holy Spirit indwells you, and something of the love, peace, wisdom, strength, and joy of Jesus is in you by virtue of His presence. If you nourish this life, it will grow.
Being a Christian is not trying to be something that you’re not. The sinner is being true to himself when he sins, but you are Christ’s offspring, and you are being true to yourself when you grow in likeness to Him.
As a believer, you are never more in conflict with yourself than when you sin. That is not who you are. As a believer, you are never truer to yourself than when you follow the example of Jesus, because that is who you are—His offspring. The more like Jesus you become, the more peace and joy you will have, because you are being true to yourself.
What difference do you think it makes if the power to live the Christian life comes from trying harder or from the life of Jesus in you?
