When Monica and I married, our lives forever changed. Some freedoms were lost or limited, but opportunities and blessings not open to us before as singles were gradually (and sometimes suddenly) open to us. Only one other event was more life-changing for us, and that event was when we became Christians.
In Corinthians Paul describes our life-changing, life defining, relationship with Christ like a marriage (1 Corinthians 6:15-17). Clustered in two chapters of Colossians (2-3 – and more there than any other book), Paul emphasizes it another way: we are “with Christ.” We died with him, have been buried with him, raised with him, made alive with him, and our lives are now hidden with him in God. Because of this, God’s sure promise is that when Christ appears again, we also will appear with him in glory.”
The result, of course, is that we cannot act without Christ. Where we go, he goes. We make him a party to all we do and say.
There is, of course, security here. We never walk alone, never have a need that will go unmet, and never face a challenge or failure that can destroy us. There is also responsibility. We are in no danger of leading Christ astray by our behavior. We may, however, hurt his reputation.
Our task is not to hurt, but to enhance – to magnify the life of Jesus by our own as we walk with Him.