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When you look at the state of the Christian faith today, do you ever wonder if we believers are missing something? We know we’re sinners and we want Jesus to cover our sins, but we don’t feel worthy of his grace or ready to really change our lives because of it. It’s no wonder we’re still longing for something more.
I think if we look closely at our lives, we’ll see that we want what Jesus can do for us but we struggle to trade our self-focused lifestyles for God-focused ones. That’s the hard truth and the difference between leading a small life as a Christian and choosing a higher calling – pursuing a new life of holiness that reflects Jesus to the world.
The concept of dying to yourself to embrace your identity in Christ is not new. But it’s not an easy path to follow. As I’ve pursued this path, books and Bible study tools have been helpful to spur me forward.
Recently, I was intrigued by a new book called Saints by Addison Bevere, son of renowned Christian authors John and Lisa Bevere. Saints explores what the early church understood about following Christ that we’re missing today. Saints empowers Christians to discover that what they’re still longing for today is the holiness of their true identities in Christ.
In Saints, Addison explains how Jesus and his apostles never meant for the church to be self-focused Christians. For starters, we weren’t even called Christians in the beginning. The word Christian is barely even used in the New Testament. Instead, followers of Christ are called Saints. It’s a higher calling that somewhere along the way got reserved only for “elite” followers of Christ.
Addison makes a compelling case for the way of the Saints that calls followers of Christ to awaken to the holiness of their true identities. It’s a call to stop living small. It’s a call to something much bigger than us.
Do you really believe in God’s grace and its power to transform your life? Grace is more than something that covers your sins. It’s a calling to discipleship. A calling to awaken to the holiness of life. A calling to be more than a forgiven Christian going through the motions of church.
“Are we willing to yield to our new life in Christ, or are we going to just put some nice church clothes on the Old Self?”
Addison Bevere, “Saints”
For many of us, that’s a convicting statement.
We live in a world where so many Christians claim to love God but never truly step into their new identity in Christ because they love themselves more. When we embrace the true freedom of grace, we can awaken to our new identity as a Saint, a follower of Jesus who reflects his holiness to the world.
God doesn’t promise that life as a Saint will be easy in this world. Sure, you’ll mess up. Not one of us is perfect. But we have to get over ourselves and fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. Your calling is to follow him and live in his glory – the place where grace is perfected. No matter your current circumstances, you are marked for glory. But you have to believe it to receive it.
When I got married and took my husband’s last name, I became Alisha of the Saints – dos Santos in Portuguese. Cue the imposter syndrome. I certainly didn’t believe I was worthy of that name. What had I ever done to be classified with holy people?
But now I see that becoming a Saint is not about what I’ve done to earn the title. After reading Saints, I understand that I was marked for glory all along. All Christians were. But we have to choose to become more than the small thinking Christians of this world. We have to step outside ourselves to become the holy people of God who we were always meant to be.
The way of the Saints doesn’t have to remain an ancient mystery. God invites us to know his word in its fullness through the Bible and he invites us to a rich life in relationship with him – to live in the hope of our new identity in Christ.
We all want to live a life of glory. But there’s no glory without sacrifice. Glory is found in laying down our lives, our selfish ambition, to find new life in Christ. His grace invites us to become children of his glory – to become his Saints.
Will you accept the invitation?
“I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” – Colossians 1:25-27