In order to enjoy Christ in a practical way, we must realize that all the positive physical and material things that we enjoy are not the real things but only shadows and figures that point to the real thing, which is Christ Himself. Do you think that the light in your house is the real light? If you are not enjoying Christ, you may be in the light of your house, yet you may actually be in darkness, because this light is not the real light. It is only a shadow or figure pointing to the real light, which is Christ (1:4; 9:5). If we have Christ, we have light, and if we do not have Christ, we do not have light. Likewise, the food and water we take in every day are not the real food and water. They are shadows, showing us that we need to take in the real food and water, which are Christ Himself. When I travel to different places, I often stay in the homes of the saints. However, those homes are not my real home. My real home, or dwelling place, is Christ. Moses realized this, saying in Psalm 90:1, “O Lord, You have been our dwelling place / In all generations.” Sometimes when I am traveling by airplane, I tell the Lord, “Lord, I am not in this plane. I am in You. You are my plane, my hiding place, and my dwelling place.” We must realize that all these material things are shadows pointing to the real thing, which is Christ Himself (Col. 2:16-17). While you are breathing, do you realize that the air you are breathing is not the real air? The real air is Christ Himself (John 20:22). We must constantly breathe Christ day by day. We cannot stop breathing, because once we stop, we are dead. Thus, we must breathe Christ all the time. Often while I am walking along the street, I tell the Lord, “Lord, this street is not my real way. You are my real way; You are the way to me. If I do not have You, I do not have the way, but when I have You, I have the way” (14:6). When we are putting on our clothes in the morning, we should realize that our clothes are not the real clothes. Our real clothing is Christ (Gal. 3:27). We should pray to the Lord, “Lord, these clothes are not my real clothes. You are my real clothing. These clothes are nothing but a shadow. You are the reality of these clothes. I praise You and thank You that You are my covering and clothing. I may be putting on this outward clothing, but in my heart I am putting on You.” This is the way to apply Christ while we are putting on our clothing. Even when we are drinking a beverage, we must tell the Lord, “I do not merely wish to be refreshed by this beverage; I wish to be refreshed by You. Lord, You are my real refreshment” (cf. John 4:14; 7:37). We all must experience and apply Christ in such a practical way. The Lord told us, “He who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me” (6:57). We need to eat the Lord so that we will live by Him. We have a natural life, but this is not the real life by which we live before God. It is only a shadow that points to the real life, which is Christ Himself (11:25; 14:6; 1 John 5:12; 1 Tim. 6:19). Today are we living by our own life or by Christ as our life? In order to live by Christ as our life, we must forsake, deny, and reject our own life and take Christ as our real life day by day and moment by moment (Matt. 16:24-25; Col. 3:4). When we are going to visit a friend, we must remember not to do it by our natural life but by Christ as our life. While I am speaking the word, in the depth of my heart I am trusting in the Lord, not in myself. I speak not by my natural man or my natural life but by Christ as my life. In a sense, we still must live a natural, human life. However, we must realize that the real life by which we live before God is not the natural life but Christ Himself as life to us. We must realize that our physical life and all the positive material things around us are only shadows; they are not the reality. The reality is Christ Himself. We should not merely learn doctrines and listen to teachings about Christ. Rather, we must experience Christ as our daily necessities and our life supply day by day and even moment by moment.
Posted on: Sat, 06 Dec 2014 15:56:48 +0000
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