Who is in charge of your life? A dead man or the living God? You see, this is a question of life and death. As long as we are in charge we are living in the world of dead. But when we surrender to Jesus, we take a giant step to the world of the living.

“It’s urgent that you listen carefully to this: Anyone here who believes what I am saying right now and aligns himself with the Father, who has in fact put me in charge, has at this very moment the real, lasting life and is no longer condemned to be an outsider. This person has taken a giant step from the world of the dead to the world of the living. (John 5:24, MSG, emphasis added)

We don’t have to wait until heaven to have the real, lasting life. The very moment we put Jesus in charge, we have eternal life. Just too often we forget and start acting like everything would depend on us. We forget and wonder why it is so dark in and around us. We forget and wonder why we can’t feel God’s presence any more.

The basic problem of human beings has ever since the garden of Eden been that we want to be in charge. The basic solution is to put Jesus in charge. When we do that, we have life and more life. When we don’t, we merely exist. It’s our choice but it is a hard one. We need to let go of egocentricity. But when we do let go…we receive blessings upon blessings.

And when we continually live in Christ, we are blessed beyond measure. God is not stingy with his grace. God loves us extravagantly. That’s why it is safe to put Jesus in charge. We will never be shortchanged. Life upon life. Love upon love. Grace upon grace. Hope upon hope. Joy upon joy. Until the end of the world. And forever more.

 

Gracious God,
Forgive us for forgetting you.
Forgive us for thinking we know better.
We surrender to you,
put Jesus in charge of our lives.
Fill us with your grace and love.
Fill us with your hope and joy.
Give us life upon life.
Give us time with you.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen

Q4U: Do you know the difference between having a dead man or the living God in charge of your life?

Be blessed, my fellow pilgrim, as you put and keep Jesus in charge of your life!

Image courtesy of Andrew Haight. Linking up today with Thought-Provoking Thursday, Faith-filled Fridays.