Life

Met with kindness rather than the hostility he expected, a morbidly obese man browsing a bodybuilding website experienced a change he neither anticipated nor thought possible. Weighing almost seven hundred pounds, he hadn’t left his house in years and was not able to fit into his shower. In time, he lost an incredible four hundred pounds and credits the support he was given by website users for his remarkable transformation. Speaking to those who supported him on his journey, he said, “I’m standing here as an example of someone whose life you gave back.” The follower of Jesus recognizes Jesus did more than give life. Jesus is life. Writing to the church at Colossae, Paul said, “When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory” (Colossians 3:4). A more literal reading of the passage would say, “When Christ our life appears …” Paul echoed the words of Moses in Deuteronomy 30:20, when Moses said of God, “He is your life and the length of your days.” Addressing philosophers gathered on Mars’ Hill in Athens, Paul co-opted the words of a Greek poet when he said of Jesus, “In Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).

Jesus is more than the Giver of good gifts and the Provider of daily needs. Jesus is the very life of the believer.

As the Originator of life, “by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible” (Colossians 1:16).

As the Savior of the world, “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him” (John 6:56). As the sustainer of life, He issues the gracious invitation, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). And to a world longingly waiting for sin to be no more, Jesus says, “I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:3). The heart that is open to receive Him will recognize Jesus as life itself. Maker, Redeemer, and soon-coming King, Jesus is life to all who accept Him by faith.