Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God; Even the mystery which hath been hidden from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: | ||
| Colossians 1:25-27 | ||
| The mystery is Christ living in you, not just telling you what to do ... I spent hours upon hours watching the same film loop over and over. I was attending Biola University, where I threw the discus. The film loop was of Jay Silvester’s world record discus throw. My teammates and I watched the way Silvester pivoted his feet. We watched the way he led with his hips. We watched the way he kept his arm behind him until the chest broke through the ‘glass wall’ before it came through and released the platter. Truly, it was a thing of beauty! But although I watched the film thousands of times, and although I tried an equal number of times to duplicate what Jay Silvester did, I never came close. So too, a lot of Christians are looking at the film loops. They study the Scriptures by the hour, which is wonderful, but it will ultimately lead to frustration until they understand the mystery. You see, if Jay Silvester could have left the film loop and taken up residence within my body, I would have pivoted perfectly, landed my feet just right, led with my hip, and tossed the discus for a world record. ‘This is the mystery,’ writes Paul. ‘This is what I’m coming to share with you. It’s not you being like Christ. It’s Christ in you, showing you how to pray, what to do, and how to spend your time as He writes His will on your heart,’ (Jeremiah 31:33). It’s not imitation. It’s impartation. It’s Christ in us — the hope of glory! | ||
