Grave Clothes

Divine Exchange: His flesh for our life

I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." -John 6:51 (NIV)

Jesus already states clearly what He wants to do with our lives. All through the scriptures, we see what Jesus came to do for us. But how many of us really take the time to reflect on our salvation and what it truly means to be saved. If we are saved, what have we been saved from? What kind of life are we living now?

This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. – 1 Timothy 2:3-4 (NIV)

God desires that all people should be saved. But it doesn't end there. The bible goes on to say, "and to come to a knowledge of the truth." Much as salvation is important, the word of God is the more important. Sometimes people will say that they've been saved for a number of years. And that's awesome. But salvation doesn't end there.

Part of our salvation is growing in God by studying and meditating on the scriptures. I grew up in church. I don't remember ever missing a service as a kid. Maybe only on those Sundays I'd pull out little tricks that made me miss service. But as long as I remember, I went to church faithfully. Well, it was either I went to church or get disciplined by my parents. Between being disciplined and going to church, the latter was less painful.

What then is Christianity? What is it about being a Christian? Christianity is an expression of the life of God in an individual. God expresses Himself through us. Now, such a thought might seem too big to contain. Jesus is so big and an entire army on His own and yet He is small enough to fill every heart.

Desiring God

And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. – Revelation 22:17 (NKJV)

No one can want God on our behalf. We have to desire God all on our own. Desire is a powerful tool. Desire leads us on a path. The bible makes us understand that everyone and anyone can come to Christ. Jesus bids us to Himself. And then the bible says, "whoever desires." It is that earnest desire that leads us into the arms of our heavenly Father.

Desire is so strong. I remember sometime in 2012, I was in junior secondary school at the time. I was also 15. This was two years prior to my receiving salvation. Now, I had gotten into the habit of dating a new girl every few months or so. And it so happened that I was single. It was the final term of the year. And at the beginning of each year, new students arrived. This was usually one of the most exciting times of an academic calendar. Even though nothing about this was academic at all.

I had been a class monitor for almost a year now. At this point in my life, I was top of my class and was known by almost everyone. Also, at this point, people had already discovered that I wasn't a good guy. The only thing commendable about me at that time was my academic performance. Everything else was terrible.

My friend and I had been talking about finding me a new girlfriend. This friend of mine was more persistent than I was. You'd think I was paying him. As we spoke on that evening during prep, something was happening. Life was changing. New students had been arriving. Prep was a time when students studied alone. Usually, there was a supervisor on duty to ensure that studies went smoothly.

And lucky for me, I was the 'supervisor' which I shouldn't have been. Sometimes I was serious about it. But on other days, not so much. Especially not this night. A new girl had walked in. And boy was she pretty! Everyone looked at her as she walked across the room in search of me. Now, I know what you are thinking, "why was she looking for me?" I stood as tall as I could with a massive body figure and as athletic as could be. How could she not?