“For in Him we live and move and exist [that is, in Him we actually have our being], as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’”
Acts 17:28
Relationship with Christ is not so much a matter of ‘putting God first’ and making Him a priority separate from all other things. Most often, we separate God from the rest of our lives. We give Him time, which is great. We hide ourselves to pray in a quiet place, which we should. We make Him a routine part of our lives, giving Him every Sunday and carving out time for Him as it fits our schedule. The reality of our Christian life is that its impossible to compartmentalize God in our lives. In Christ we are made whole and we are a vital part of the body of Christ. Relationship with Him is communing with Him daily, living in Christ, Christ living in you and dwelling in the eternal presence of God. It is a constant that we are in companionship with Christ, now and forever. [“And the testimony is this: God has given us eternal life [we already possess it], and this life is in His Son [resulting in our spiritual completeness, and eternal companionship with Him”-1 John 5:11 AMP]. He is with us always dwelling on the inside of us.
When we set our minds to immerse ourselves in Him, there can be no other starting point for us than our direct connection with Him. Everything we set out to do begins and ends with Him there. It makes the notion of putting Him first almost silly, because we are connected so deeply that nothing can be done without Him. We are intertwined with Him on every level. Every breath we breathe is in Him and with Him.
“His word divides the soul from spirit and joints from marrow…”(Heb. 4:12). Think of how deeply intricate and penetrating that is. No doctor on earth can cleanly divide the joints from the marrow physically and no man has access to the spirit and the soul in a way which he can make a separation between the two. Our hearts are eternally tethered to Christ by His holy word. He is in us and we are in Him. Begin to refresh yourself in Him with the knowledge that He is a part of you and you are a part of His precious body. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:16, “Do you not know and understand that you [the church] are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells [permanently] in you [collectively and individually]?” Awaken your mind with the realization that He is always with you, in you and working through you (as you heed His voice). There is no separation from God. As a believer, you are inseparably connected and intertwined with Him.
There is nothing that we can do apart from Him. He is with us always. The depth of our relationship with Him goes past church on Sunday and 15 minutes of prayer in the morning and at night. Ponder how close He really is to you spiritually, emotionally and physically. The breath that enters and exits your lungs is divine breath, breathed by The Father before you were conceived and in-filled into your lungs and your spirit the very moment you became a new creature in Christ.
He knows and accounts for every hair on your head. You are precious in His sight. His love is all encompassing–discerning your thoughts and intentions in every waking moment of your life. He places witty ideas in your mind and he gives revelation to you in dreams and visions. The Bible even tells us in Psalms 34:18 that He is close to the broken-hearted and He rescues those who are crushed in spirit. That means He is in tune with your personal emotions and He not only knows when you hurt, but He is there with you and relates to your sadness in a way that no one else can. The Holy Spirit is there to uplift you and comfort you, pampering you with the Word of Life to bring you through your emotional pain unscathed, healed, wiser and stronger.
Jesus prayed specifically for every believer in John 17. He said, “I have given to them the glory and honor which You have given Me, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected and completed into one, so that the world may know [without any doubt] that You sent Me, and [that You] have loved them, just as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given to Me [as Your gift to Me], may be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, because You loved Me before the foundation of the world. O just and righteous Father, although the world has not known You and has never acknowledged You [and the revelation of Your mercy], yet I have always known You; and these [believers] know [without any doubt] that You sent Me; and I have made Your name known to them, and will continue to make it known, so that the love with which You have loved Me may be in them [overwhelming their heart], and I [may be] in them.”
–John 17:22-26. His prayers never go unanswered because He is the personification of righteousness. The prayers of a righteous man are heard, answered and fulfilled. Understand this, that the love and life of Christ dwells (resides, lives, is settled, housed, lodged, stays) within you at the bequest of Jesus Christ, Himself. What an honor!!
We are alive in Him!! Our lives are not our own, but His!! This places all believers in a beautiful position. We are kingdom dwellers, hidden in Christ. He is no longer a separate priority or the first thing we do. He is a constant. He is our place of dwelling. As we renew our minds in the word to understand who and where we really are in Christ, we will allow His all encompassing love and life to take over in every area of what we do and how we function. Colossians 3:3-4 says, “For you died [to this world], and your [new, real] life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.”(AMP). He is our life. We can’t put Him first and then move forward with Him on the back burner anymore–communing with Him as a need arises. We must live in and through Him which is our rightful position in the Kingdom of God. Make Jesus Christ your everything, immerse yourself in Him. It’s where you belong.
Further study:
May He grant you out of the riches of His glory, to be strengthened and spiritually energized with power through His Spirit in your inner self, [indwelling your innermost being and personality], so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through your faith. And may you, having been [deeply] rooted and [securely] grounded in love, be fully capable of comprehending with all the saints (God’s people) the width and length and height and depth of His love [fully experiencing that amazing, endless love]; and [that you may come] to know [practically, through personal experience] the love of Christ which far surpasses [mere] knowledge [without experience], that you may be filled up [throughout your being] to all the fullness of God [so that you may have the richest experience of God’s presence in your lives, completely filled and flooded with God Himself].”
–Ephesians 3:16-19 (AMP)