WE NOW TURN to John’s Gospel and, unlike the Synoptics, which do not mention being in Christ at all, we find that the equivalent of being in Christ mentioned sixteen times. This is what we would expect, for John’s Gospel, being written later, would reflect the general conception of being in Christ which took the place of being with Christ. The Christians found they were in Christ. They had moved from the “with” to the “in.” John reflects that transition. This is important, for it shows that this being in Christ was not just Pauline—it was Christian. It was inherent. It was not invented by Paul and imposed on Christianity; it was something exposed out of its very nature.
John was saturated with it. The first passage: “In him was life, and the life was the light of men” (1:4). Nothing could be more penetrating and important than this: “In him was life”—for nothing is more important in life than life. The alternative is not-life, or death, and that is exactly the alternative presented: in Christ you are in life; out of Christ you are in not-life, death. This is not arbitrarily imposed on life by the edict of God—it is just a fact. Those in Christ have life—have it now, and will have it hereafter; and those not in Christ do not have life—they do not have it now, and will not have it hereafter.
Nothing, absolutely nothing more important could be said than what I have just said—provided it is fact. If it is fiction, it doesn’t matter. If it is fiction, it will prove to be an ignis fatuus, a false fire leading us into swamps of despair and disillusionment. If it is fact, however, it becomes the light of the world. Not to have it is to stumble into deepening gloom. To have it is to have a light which leads to the perfect day. The more important thing is that this vast experiment we are making with this thing called life is working out just that way.
O Jesus, Lord and Master, something dies within us when we depart from Thee even in thought. Something lives within us when we step into Thee even in thought—we live! That awes us. That makes us yearn to be in Thee every moment so we can live every moment. Amen.
AFFIRMATION FOR THE DAY: I am made by my very structural makeup to be in Christ. There I am at home.
