Ken Winter

In his letters to the churches in Galatia and Philippi, Paul wrote that he was “crucified with Christ. I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me. For me to live is Christ.” Paul’s identity was in Christ and he was writing the churches to remind them that as followers of Jesus, their identity was to be in Him as well.

The same is true for us … or at least it is supposed to be. It is easy in our day and time for our identity to get lost in our many interests that divide us and not in the One who died to draw us to Himself.

We would do well to heed a lesson from the Israelites.

Eyes of fear will always look up at the obstacles from man’s perspective; eyes of faith will always look down at the obstacles from God’s perspective. Eyes of fear will always gaze out from under the circumstances; eyes of faith will always look over the circumstances in light of God’s promises. Eyes of fear will always be blinded by the visible; eyes of faith will always be illuminated by the unseen assurance of God.

The Israelites had lived in Egypt for 430 years. As a matter of fact, it had been 430 years to the day. Now, the Lord was leading His people to embark on a journey to the land that He had promised their patriarch Abraham; a journey that would lead through the wilderness.

Because early Christians truly believed God is worthy, there was a conspicuous transformation that occurred in their lives. It changed the way they thought about everything – themselves, their priorities, their relationships, their time, and their possessions. They immediately recognized something that appears to be more difficult for us today.

There is a journey each of us take most every day. It is a journey to a “well” where we go to meet a need in our lives. Its purpose may be to fill an emotional emptiness, provide mental stimulation, meet a spiritual need, or satisfy a physical hunger. The needs we feel may vary and the places we go to appease them may look different, but we all have a “well” to which we go.

In those days, the people repeatedly chose to turn away from God and do evil in His sight. Their actions led to their enslavement and oppression by wicked kings. The people cried out in their distress, and God in His mercy raised up a man, or in one case a woman, who He chose to use to rescue them from their distress. They enjoyed a period of peace … until they again began to seek their own way.

Sadly, our life patterns are often very similar to those of the people who lived in the era of the judges.

Have you ever found yourself being weighed down by a burden of leadership? It could have been as you led your family, your co-workers, a group from within your church, or a group of friends. Whatever the group was, God had ordered your steps to be in a position of leadership with the group.

The day Moses stood before the burning bush, God gave him a promise. He promised that after Moses had brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, he would return to that very same mountain to worship God. God didn’t tell Moses all that he was going to encounter along the way, and that is often true for us as well.

God’s primary purpose for creating us was for us to worship Him … with all of our being … including our language. i am therefore convinced that the spoken word was given to us by our Creator for that primary purpose – to worship Him. Yes, it was given to us so we might communicate with one another … but that is its secondary purpose. And i believe that sin is what caused our view of the order of purpose to become confused.

The work of Christ’s redemption is finished. There is nothing more to be done. We follow a Living Savior who rose from the grave. Let’s allow that powerful truth to permeate our every thought and every action every day … not only on Easter.