How your union with Christ helps you grow spiritually

Today, I had a conversation with a teenager who is really, really struggling at home. It's not good. Not at all. His relationships with his dad and mom are very, very stressed. On top of that, his girlfriend just broke up with him. She said, "I can't handle all this stress." Now, he's wanting to restore that relationship. He's heartbroken.

I encouraged him to consider that this might not be the best time to pursue a girlfriend relationship. I said, "You might be seeking a relationship with a girl because of a void in your heart that can only be filled by your relationship with Jesus."

I went on, "You might have question mark at the core of your being. You might be asking, 'Am I loved? Amm I worthy?' at the core of your being. So, you are using strategies and tactics to answer that question. And the people around you know intuitively that they are being used to fill a void in your life. That might be why they are running the other way."

He seemed like he was listening so I kept going, "Perhaps now is the time for you to focus on your relationship with Jesus - to really lock in on your union with Christ, your identity in Christ - to know who youa re in Jesus. Then you can relate to others with an exclamation point at the core of your being. You'll be saying, 'I am loved! I am worthy!' When that happens, you will live with strategies and tactics that are coming from a full and healthy place, not from a void. And the people around you will know that they aren't being used. Instead they feel they are being loved."

I'm hoping that he really gets this. I gave him some scripture to read. It will take some time for him to lock in on these truths and live in light of them. Not many Christians do. How about you?

We must understand who we are because of our union with Christ and then live in faith in light of our union with Him. We fail to grow and fall into sin when we forget what has happened to us in our union with Christ.

Consider Romans 6:4-7: “We have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.”

One of our problems is that we don't understand the reality of what happened to us when we trusted Christ. The rule, the reign, the control of sin was broken at the cross. Whether we know it or feel it, it's still true. We must not forget it.

We value far too lightly what has really happened to us. We were in the domain of darkness and now we are in the light. It is an utter transformation. We must have this knowledge of the facts, meditate on these truths, and then step out in faith to live out what we really are in Christ.

Think about the men and women who pay $2,000 to role play at a fantasy baseball camp. Watch them for a while and you will notice that they are imposters. They run slow, throw weakly, and struggle to hit the ball out of the infield. They are pretending to be major league players. But a couple of weeks later, the real pro players come to camp. Watch them for a while and you will see that they are the “real deal.” They run fast, throw hard, and hit the ball 400 feet. The difference? They are “doing what they are.”

Well, God, in His grace through our union with Christ, has made us “major leaguers.” Whether we realize it or not, we are the “real deal.” We need to remember who we are and start to “do what we are.”

Think about what God says is true about our identity in Christ.

10 truths about us after becoming “new” in Christ.

1. Hebrews 10:12-14 - You were declared perfect
2. Hebrews 10:15-17 - Your sins were forgiven never to be held against you.
3. Romans 8:11 - The Holy Spirit lives in you.
4. John 3:1-8 - You have been born again.
5. 1 John 5:11, 12 - You were given eternal life.
6. II Corinthians 5:17 - You were made into a new creation.
7. II Corinthians 5:18 - You were reconciled to God
8. Romans 5:1 - You are no longer at war with God.
9. Colossians 1:13,14 - You are redeemed from the enemy’s authority.
10. Colossians 1:13,14- You were brought into the kingdom of God.

What God says about the new you is what you must choose to believe about yourself. It's also what we must choose to live. This is called "living by faith."

It isn't just good for teens. It's good for everyone. Especially you. And me.