Getting Wrecked by and for God—for GoodSample

  

Discovering His Secret

I encountered plenty of Catholic mystics, Puritan preachers, Holiness writers, devout missionaries and contemporary teachers who helped guide me in my quest to live in loving union with Jesus, complete with abundant fruit, answered prayers, strength in suffering, and signs and wonders. I experienced God’s goodness, grace and faithfulness in many ways. I was and am forever grateful. But I was not content to live a life that did not more fully reflect Christ in me. 

Then one day I listened to an intriguing interview with a man whose life had been transformed by this secret of union with Christ. What were the obstacles he encountered? What were the aha moments he experienced, the unexpected joys, the confusing dilemmas and the ultimate victories of learning to live in union with Christ? Despite its length of several hundred pages, this man’s book—filled with Scriptures, prescriptions for lifestyle changes and accounts of God’s amazing grace in his own life—was a disappointment. Where were the tales of temptation, the stories of struggle, the accounts of anxiety as he navigated the reality of living in union with Jesus?

Then things began to change. This was the change I desperately wanted. I discovered that this journey was not all about me—my identity, my destiny, my maturity, my ministry, my transformation. No, this journey is all about Jesus. Yes, I knew all along that my quest was about Jesus. But try as I might, Jesus Christ’s magnificence seemed to elude me.

Not anymore.

Now I am delighted to share with you Christ in me, plus all the lessons He has taught me about our union, our oneness, which is God’s best secret. I can sum up these lessons in one statement: Jesus has gotten bigger, better and more beautiful than I ever dared to dream or imagine. And this has wrecked me for good and for God. A surprising and life-changing thing happened along the way. Never did I imagine that as Jesus Christ got bigger, better and more beautiful to me, I would begin to see myself as He saw me—bigger, better and more beautiful than I ever imagined I could be. That is how true transformation happened.

I was undone. I was wrecked for God.

Ponder: Where have you felt dissatisfied in your life with Jesus?

Prayer: Thank You, Father, for the incredible truth of Christ living inside of me. Open the eyes of my heart to see and experience Your secret of Christ in me and me in Christ. Marvelous mystery!