Blog In Audio:
Greetings,
Today I want to present some thoughts to you as a leader or a believer in Christ. What do you consider the most important in your life: What you know? or, Who you know? In the world there is a reality that who you know can often take you further than merely what you know. The context of this statement is often one of personal importance, personal advancement or personal success in some way. What if who you know is not about how successful you can be, but about who you can become? When we know Jesus, we can be transformed by Him to become like Him in our lives. We cannot merely see a concept or a preconceived idea of who He is, we must clearly see Him. When we really see Him in our lives, we become like Him, because we see Him as He is.
1 John 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
I know that these words of John pertain to the coming glory of the incorruptible realm of life in Christ, but I also believe that these words pertain to us in life right now. Every day we have an opportunity to be distracted by the things around us, or to be attracted to the presence of Christ in us. The presence of Christ in us is the testimony of Jesus within our hearts, Jesus within our spirits – the core of the power of our being. It is only through seeing Jesus in the center of our being that the outer expressions of our lives can truly become testimonies of His grace. Grace comes at a revelation of Jesus Christ in our lives.
1 Peter 1:13 Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ…
This is the secret to the purification of our minds; it is seeing Jesus in the reality of who He is in our lives. It is not about us expecting Jesus to change when He sees how we are, but the transformation that takes place in our lives when we see Jesus for who He truly is in our lives. He is the faith motivating voice behind us that we can turn to see. When we turn to see Him, we become like Him because His love and presence transforms the very core of our being to be as we should be in Christ. As leaders, we must lead in this example and in this testimony.
Merely teaching godly principles or methods of morality are not enough. We are only changed when our hearts are changed from within. This is the difference between light shining into the darkness and light shining out of darkness. The testimony of Jesus in our flesh is the transformation of our lives. The glory we see is found in a mirror. We dimly, but increasingly see the transforming power of Christ at work within our hearts. When we look in the mirror, we see a reflection of ourselves. The glory of God that we see is the testimony of life and change that comes from the Spirit of the Lord at work in our hearts. The reflection we see is a testimony of Christ and a testimony of who we are. It is uniquely us, but us as we are being changed from within. Light is shining out of darkness, that darkness being our old way of thinking, our old values, and our own will and way in life. The light of Christ within us is transforming us to become children of God by the Spirit of Christ within our hearts.
2 Corinthians 4:5-7 For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus ’ sake. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.
It is the power of God at work within our hearts that transforms us to become testimonies of God’s love. We are increasingly, progressively, and forever changed to become testimonies as children of God in this world. The real issue of the reconciliation of mankind to God through Christ is not one of the forgiveness of sins, but of being children of God. If we are children of God, we must become a testimony of our Father. We must expect to be changed. The forgiveness of sins doesn’t justify us to remain in our sin. It justifies us to live and true life is only found in an eternal relationship with God as our Father and Jesus as His son. This is made real through the work of Holy Spirit in our lives. This is where the iniquities of our hearts are transformed by the power of His grace. His Spirit forever changes the values and personal desires of our hearts. The self-preserving and self-motivating desires of our past are changed to a testimony of loving God and others in the character of Christ.
As leaders, the most important thing we can know is the presence of Jesus in our lives. Our role as leaders is to lead others into the place of knowing Him, even as we know Him. It is a personal connection of Christ in them. It is about Who they know, not merely what they know.
Food For Thought,
Ted J. Hanson
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