Hands up who wants to live for Christ? I see a lot of raised hands.
The natural instinct of a Christian is to want to be transformed so we become like Christ and serve Him. It’s as if a new destination has been punched into our inner Satnav. Instead of plotting a course towards wealth or comfort or career, we’re now heading towards Christ and His kingdom. We want to be transformed. But how?
One answer is to let our lives match reality. What do I mean? Speaking of Christ, Colossians 1v16 says that “all things have been created … for him”. It’s not just me who’s called to live for Christ; “all things” exist for Him. But all things not only exist for Christ, they also exist in Him and through Him. Here’s how Paul puts it: “For in him all things were created … all things have been created through him and for him”. In Him. Through Him. For Him.
We find the same pattern when Paul speaks of the new creation. “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things” (Col. 1v19-20). “To himself ” is the same phrase as “for him” in verse 16. The whole reality – in both creation and recreation – is in, and through, and for Christ. And this reality – of everything ultimately existing in, through, and for Christ – is to be mirrored in our own lives.
But what does it mean to be transformed in and through Christ? Paul describes the Colossian church as “God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ (Col.1v2). They have two addresses. They live “in Colossae”, but they also live “in Christ”. Christ has become their second address, their new home.
We used to belong in the “dominion of darkness”, but faith in Christ has “brought us into the kingdom of the Son” (Col. 1v13). This home or identity is gifted to us by God. We can’t earn it, and we can’t un-earn it. It’s this freedom that allows us to live “for Christ”. We’ve got nothing to lose because our inheritance is guaranteed in him (Col.1v12).
You may have had the experience of working to pass an exam so you could be qualified in some way. That makes sense when you’re trying to get a job. But you don’t have to qualify to become a Christian. Christ has passed the test and in Him we get to share his 100% exam score. ‘The Father … has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people’ (Col.1v12).
That’s a great start, but we often default back into thinking we need to work hard to remain qualified as Christians or to be transformed. But that switches our attention away from Christ and back onto ourselves. Paul talks about Christians who’ve “lost connection with the head”, that is, Christ. Yet it’s this connection to Christ that transforms us (Col.2v19). This is what it means to live through Christ: we keep Christ in our sights (Col. 3v1-2) and let Him energise our service.
Perhaps you’re coming to the Convention feeling weary. Perhaps serving Christ feels like a slog. Let me encourage you to take time to relax, refocus your gaze on Christ and remember who you are in Him.
Tim Chester’s devotional You Can Change is the theme book for the 2025 Keswick Convention.
