Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.

  - 2 Timothy 4.8

Moreover, if any injury were done to him, he would always do some good thing in return, for he always forgave injuries. He would labour with his hands for the love of God, to get what they wanted for the poor. And so he passed his life in this world as to receive the crown of eternal life in the world to come.

  - Anonymous, Life of Ciaran of Saighir, Irish, 17th century, from an earlier ms.[1]

Is the way we live determined more by our ability and experience, or by our vision of what’s possible?

The latter, actually; and this highlights the problem of vision which plagues so many believers in Christ.

Many Christians are trapped in a snare of experience. Because they’ve never done something, or have never seen something done before, they assume they can’t do it or it can’t be done. Like making a daily commitment to seek the Lord in prayer and His Word first thing in the day; confidently engaging their neighbors or co-workers in conversations about Jesus; or taking the initiative to nurture and encourage another believer in his walk with and work for the Lord.

They’ve never done such things, and they don’t know anyone who ever has, so they assume these are not disciplines intended for them. Thus they languish in the snare of experience, mired in a status quo Christianity that’s not turning anyone’s world rightside-up for Jesus (Acts 17.1-9).

Other believers tend to live up to the level of their ability: they’ve taken stock of themselves and are convinced they will never quite have what it takes to carry out the demands and realize the precious and very great promises of the Gospel or the power of God’s Kingdom and glory (1 Thess. 2.12; 1 Cor. 4.20). Or else, sensing that they’ve reached the limits of their ability, they don’t aspire to anything more.

This is the “as good as it gets” attitude that keeps believers from the “exceedingly abundantly more” which the Spirit can do in and through them.

Each of these approaches to living for Christ expresses a vision of the Christian life which is, frankly, not in line with the teaching of Scripture. If what we envision the life of faith to be is determined by our experience to date or our perception of our abilities, then that vision is not determined by the promises of Scripture or Christ’s teaching concerning the Kingdom.

If we had a different vision for our lives, that is, if our minds and hearts were focused, and our lives were directed toward a more expansive, eternal horizon, we would break free of the snare of experience, and discover abilities we were not even aware of – such as the ability to know God in His glory, to talk intelligently, boldly, and persuasively about Jesus, and to help another believer grow as a witness for the Lord.

Jesus, “for the joy set before Him,” certainly rose above merely human abilities, and, by focusing on the glory and joy of His Kingdom, tapped into divine power to endure suffering, shame, and scorn for the sake of enemies such as you and I (Heb. 12.1, 2; Rom. 5.10). He had His eye on the crown of glory that awaited Him, and which He now wears as He advances His Kingdom on earth.

If, like Jesus, we can concentrate on the crown of righteousness, the ever-advancing Kingdom of Christ (Dan. 2.44, 25; Is. 9.6, 7), the indwelling power of God’s Spirit, and the glorious appearing of our Lord, we could find strength beyond what we ever thought possible, Spirit-given strength to make Kingdom-seeking the defining priority of every aspect of our lives, and living for the glory of God a reality, rather than just an idea. We would insist that with God, nothing is impossible. We would say, “I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me!” We would take every thought captive for obedience to Christ, trust in the Lord with all our heart, make the most of every moment of time, enter every situation and engage every relationship with an eye to the glory of God, become conduits of living water to love our neighbors as ourselves, and never – never – fail to speak boldly and confidently about the things we have seen and heard and know to be true about Jesus.

When the commanding vision of our lives is of Christ in glorious splendor, and our horizons are eternal rather than temporal, the Spirit of God within us can grow us, soul and body, beyond – exceedingly abundantly beyond – anything we have ever experienced in the life of faith (Eph. 3.20). With a bigger and more glorious vision to guide us, we take bolder, more confident, and more adventurous next steps of daily obedience.

Don’t settle for a small vision of your life; look to distant horizons, brethren, and rise, rise!

Psalm 84.1-4 (Holy Manna: “Brethren, We Have Met to Worship”)
Lord of Hosts, how sweet Your dwelling! How my soul longs for Your courts!
Let my soul with joy keep telling of Your grace forevermore!
Like a bird upon the altar, let my life to You belong.
Blest are they who never falter as they praise Your grace with song!

Lord Jesus, show me the radiance of Your face, that I may desire You and be transformed to become more like You! Adapted from Columbanus, “Poem on the World’s Impermanence”

The Rule of Law
This week, in our In the Gates column, we finish up our study of the Law of God. Next week we begin a new series on “The Rule of God’s Law.” Everyone is ruled by some law; only one Law can fit us for loving God and our neighbors and knowing full and abundant life in Christ. If you have not been reading In the Gates, I encourage you to visit the website for each day’s installment in this important subject.

Thanks to those of you whom God has moved and enabled to support our work with your gifts. It’s easy to give to The Fellowship of Ailbe, and all gifts are, of course, tax-deductible. You can click here to donate online through credit card or PayPal, or send your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 19 Tyler Dr., Essex Junction, VT 05452.

T. M. Moore, Principal
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All Psalms for singing from The Ailbe Psalter. Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.