BEFORE WE LEAVE this amazing passage, which tells of the security—the perfect security—you find when you live within the circle of the love of God in Christ Jesus, we must emphasize the how of that security.
It is not a security where you are beyond temptation, or where you are exempt from trouble. It is deeper than that. The ancient legend tells of Antaeus who, when he was in touch with his mother Earth, was invincible, for in contact with her he possessed all her strength and resources. Only when he was lifted up and lost contact with his mother Earth could he be conquered. As long as you remain in Christ you possess all the strength, all the goodness, all the victory, all the love of Christ. You are therefore invincible. But if you get out of Him—in thought, word, deed, or attitude—then you are weak and vulnerable.
As long as you stay in His love nothing can reach you, for in getting through that love to you it is transformed. The love of Christ is the only thing the Adversary can’t get into without ceasing to be the Adversary. Jesus said: “the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me; [his coming will only serve]” (John 14:30). The devil actually served Jesus by putting Him on a cross, for He used that cross to redeem a race. Jesus lived in the love of God, and when the cross got to Him it was not calamity but opportunity—opportunity to redeem a race. Hate may try to get to you while you are in the love of Christ, but hate only does for you what it did for Stephen amid falling stones—it brought out a deathless prayer: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 7:60). Hate “served” to bring out a deathless love. Lies, falling on Stephen before the council, turned into light: “And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel” (Acts 6:15). Lies became light when they got into the love of Christ.
O Jesus, my Lord, when I remain in Thee, temptation is triumph, bitterness against me becomes blessedness within me, blows upon me only beat the glory out, misunderstanding becomes a deeper understanding of Thee, I am conqueror and more than conqueror in Thy love. Amen.
AFFIRMATION FOR THE DAY: Everything furthers those who follow Christ, if they learn how to use it.
