February 28 I Friday

Numbers 17-18

Mark 6:30-40

“For My flesh is real food and My blood is real drink. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent Me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on Me will live because of Me.”   —John 6:55-57

The above Scripture passage will speak to many people of the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, which Jesus asked us to do in remembrance of Him. The taking of the bread and wine reminds us of our need for ongoing cleansing and renewal in our communion with God. It is an expression of our union with Christ.

Essential to our union with Christ is the work of the Holy Spirit. Part of the Holy Spirit’s ministry is to lead us into truth. Paul tells us, “The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit” (1 Corinthians 2:14). In other words, spiritual truth does not make sense to the mind detached from God. Understanding God is not learning practical logic as one would with algebra or geometry. We cannot know the things of God without the work of the Holy Spirit to open our eyes and give us understanding.

If we can explain our Christian lives in terms other than the activity of God, then we may be religiously Christian, but are not enjoying the liberty and power that can be ours in union with Christ. When Jesus said, “I live because of the Father” (John 6:57), He was reiterating His total dependency on His Father. To us, Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35). When we live every day in dependence on Christ, we are drawing upon the grace, presence and power of His indwelling Spirit. We learn things about Him we would never learn otherwise, and in areas where we do not feel capable, we discover the complete sufficiency of Christ. Jesus will always meet the needs of every heart in which He dwells.

The exemplary life of Christ demonstrates that it is impossible to live the Christian life purely by human means. It would be like trying to pick ourselves up by our boot laces. We simply cannot do it, and Jesus would not do it without total dependency on His Father. All of Christ’s works and teaching had their origin in His Father, so how much greater must our dependency be on Him? When we live under Christ’s authority, our activities will be energized and made fruitful by Him. The Christian life is living in complete dependence on Christ, because He is all the resource we need in any situation.

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for being all the resources I need to live the Christian life. I ask that You help me to live every day in dependence on You so that it becomes a way of life for me.