WHEN CHRIST IS ALL
Maybe what we should guard against is not merely the loud rebellion of open sin, but the quiet drifting of affection. A man may still speak of Jesus, still attend assemblies, still open his Bible, and yet Christ is no longer his life but only a part of it.
The apostle wrote that our life is hidden with Christ in God, and that when Christ who is our life appears, we also will appear with Him in glory (Colossians 3:3-4). That is not the language of addition but of totality. Christ is not meant to be one treasure among many. He is the treasure. When He fills the heart, lesser loves fall into their proper place, and the soul finds a steady peace that the world cannot give (John 14:27).
This is why the call of Jesus is so absolute. He does not invite men to improve themselves but to deny themselves, to take up the cross, and to follow Him (Matthew 16:24). The cross is not an ornament. It is an instrument of death. It speaks of the end of self-rule and the beginning of Christ’s rule within.
Paul could say that he had been crucified with Christ and that it was no longer he who lived, but Christ living in him (Galatians 2:20). This is the mystery and the glory of the Christian life. It is not merely imitation but participation. The life of Jesus takes root in the soul, shaping desires, directing thoughts, and producing a quiet obedience that flows from love rather than fear (John 15:4-5).
Yet many resist this fullness. We want Christ, but we also want control. We want salvation, but we hesitate at surrender. The rich young ruler came to Jesus with eagerness, yet walked away sorrowful because his heart was divided (Mark 10:21-22). So it remains today. A divided heart cannot know the deep joy of Christ’s presence.
The Bible says that the double-minded man is unstable in all his ways (James 1:8). But when a man yields wholly to Christ, there comes a simplicity, a singleness of vision, where the eye is set on one thing, and the whole body is full of light (Matthew 6:22). This is real freedom. For where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (2 Corinthians 3:17).
To have Christ as all is to find that He is enough in every season. In suffering, He is comfort (2 Corinthians 1:5). In weakness, He is strength (2 Corinthians 12:9). In uncertainty, He is wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:30). The soul that leans on Him does not collapse when circumstances change, because its foundation is not in the shifting sands of this world but in the unchanging person of Christ.
This is the call set before us, not to admire Him from a distance, but to abide in Him, to draw life from Him, and to let Him be all in all.
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Lord Jesus, You are not meant to be a part of my life but the very life within me. Draw my heart away from divided affections and fix it wholly upon You. Amen.
BDD
