A Christian is born of God, engrafted into Christ, and
an inhabitation for the Holy Spirit. His nature is renewed, his mind illumined,
his spirit changed.
He is not what he was, for grace hath made
a difference; he is not what he desires to be, for grace is not yet perfected;
he is not what he shall be, for grace shall be consummated in glory.
The knowledge of Christ is his treasure;
the mind of Christ his evidence; the love of Christ his song; conformity to
Christ his life; to be with Christ his preeminent desire.
By faith he rests on Christ, receives
Christ, and looks to Christ. He heareth Christ’s words, treadeth in Christ’s
steps, and seeketh Christ’s approbation.
He speaks the language of the Savior’s
kingdom, reveres the Savior’s statutes and laws, obeys his ordinances, wears
his costume, and lives to his glory.
The life of Christ within him is the
principle of his being, and because Christ ever lives, he shall live also. In
the Christian, Christ lives and speaks and acts.
He is Christ’s representative on earth,
his witness before men, and his follower before God. The Christian hearkens to
Christ’s teachings, rests on Christ’s sacrifice, avails himself of Christ’s
meditation, and cheerfully obeys Christ’s royal laws. He inquires what would
Christ have me know, what do, and what enjoy.
To know Christ, is Christianity
intellectual; to obey Christ, Christianity practical; to enjoy Christ,
Christianity perfected. As bread to the hungry, as water to the thirsty, as the
rock in the sultry day, is Christ to the Christian.
The Christian is in the world but not of
it, among the world yet separate from it, passing through the world but without
attachment to it.
The Christian is a man and may err, an
imperfect man and may sin, but a renewed man and shall have his fruits unto
holiness and in the end everlasting life.
The Christian is a warrior and must fight;
but he is a conqueror and must prevail.
The Christian sojourns on earth but dwells
in heaven; a pilgrim in the desert but an enrolled denizen of the skies.
The Christian is the impress of Christ,
the reflection of the Father, and the temple of the Holy Ghost.
Contrast him with the infidel in his
faith, with the profligate in his life, with the merely moral in his heart, and
with the Pharisee in his spirit. His pedigree, from Jehovah; his nature, from
heaven; and his name, from Antioch. O Christian, great is thy dignity,
refulgent thy glory, interminable thy blessed hope. All things art thine; thou
art Christ’s and Christ is God’s.
— Author Unknown
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