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| Makapu'u 2011 |
When Jesus claimed to be the resurrection and the life, he gave Christians two life promises. The First is intended for Christians who die (John 11:25 NIV), while the Second is intended for Christians who live:
“…and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:26 NIV)
Do Christians believe? We have three ways to answer the Lord:
1) May it be to me as you have said (Luke 1:38 NIV); or,
2) I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief (Mark 9:24 NIV); or,
3) —laugh!—because undisputed facts wipe out little faith (Genesis 17:17; 18:12).
We have been born again of incorruptible seed; that seed must grow into the full-stature Christ (1 Peter 1:23; Ephesians 4:13, 15). Why full stature? The full-stature Son is alive and he said, “Because I live, you will live also” (John 14:19). Anything less than full-stature and we die.
Unconvinced? The Son gives life and is the image of the invisible God—the very life and image which we originally lost to sin (Colossians 1:15; Genesis 1:27; 2:24). To recover our loss, God planned for us to be conformed to the image of his Son (Romans 8:29, 30). Even the Holy Spirit is tasked with changing us into the Lord’s image (2 Corinthians 3:18). That image—spirit, soul, and body—is alive today!
The full-stature church is supposed to be “alive and remain until the coming of the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:15). If not us, then who?
Scripture quotations from New King James Version (NKJV) unless otherwise noted; excerpts from our book to be released next year.
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