Through suffering, our bodies continue
to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in
our bodies. 2 Corinthians 4:10
There are values in
Christ risen for our bodies now. His risen Life can now energize these bodies;
not, for the present, to change them into the likeness of His glorious body,
but to quicken them for service. There is risen Life for these mortal bodies
now, but it has to be deliberately appropriated, chosen, drawn upon. It is
useless for me when I am feeling ill and weak to sit down and say, "Oh,
Lord, come and pick me up, and put me on my feet, and make me well!" The
Lord never does so.
I know this: that in
such times of desperate weakness and physical discount, utter inability, any
kind of coming in of the Lord has always been introduced by the Lord making me
take hold of Him. The Lord has never come in and made me suddenly to feel
myself being filled, permeated with Life, and rising up. I have known the
moment very often come when the Lord, not in an audible voice but in what is as
good, a suggestion, a prompting, has said, "Lay hold of Life; lay hold of
Me as your Life!" There were no spoken words, but the intimation was to
this effect: The time has come to repudiate this state and lay hold of Christ
for Life! And that has been unto a renewal for a further period of service. The
Lord does not take us up like an automaton; He causes us to cooperate with
Himself on the basis of His risen Life. All the values of Christ risen are
found by our deliberate and definite taking hold of His risen Life. That is but
to say, repudiate Adam, whether it be in body, soul or spirit, and stand in
Christ for whatever the need may be. Is it for spirit? Is it for mind? Is it
for heart? Is it for will? Is it for body? The one essential is to stand
definitely in Christ for the situation.... The whole realm and range of Christ
for experience is dependent upon His risen Life in us, and our laying hold of
it, standing on it. The Lord show us more of what that means.
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