Christ in us, the Hope of Glory

The festivities from Christmas have ended, the gifts are opened and the wrapping paper is cleaned up. What do we do now? Do we go back to our everyday lives and put Jesus on a shelf with the elf?  Or do we continue to keep Jesus alive and well in our hearts and grow in the discovery of who Christ is in us? 

When Jesus came to earth and dwelt among man, this was just the beginning of the story. After He died and rose again, He sent the Holy Spirit to dwell with those who believe in Him. Jesus said in John 14:16-17 "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him.  You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you." 

The fact of God dwelling in His people's hearts was unheard of among the Old Testament saints who only knew of God empowering people momentarily for a specific purpose. Jesus unfolded the mystery and He now lives in the life of every believer through the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity. Col. 1:26-27 says: "...the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."  God choose to make known to us what other generations desperately sought to see and experience.

God choose us to be born for this day and we have the honor of experiencing the revealed mystery of Christ in us, the hope of glory. I think of Ester who was placed in her royal position for the time she was in to speak to the King on behalf of the Jewish people in Ester 4:14b. We too have come to such a time as this to not only experience Christ within us but also to speak and share the hope, life, and love that Jesus brought to the lost and dying world.