"There is no joy in this world like union with Christ. The more we can feel it, the happier we are."
-Charles Spurgeon

Text: John 14:18-26

Jesus in you is your deepest reality and your truest identity!
"In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you." - John 14:20

Paul elaborates on the believer's union with Christ when he writes, "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."  One commentary states, "When a person becomes a Christian, God totally restructures their life, altering its whole fabric—thinking, feeling, willing, and acting." If you are in Christ, all of this is true for you, even if you don't feel it.

What is it that will make us want to be whom God has already declared we are in Christ? The answer is love and gratitude for what God has done for us in Jesus, as expressed in the gospel.

Jerry Bridges provides very practical wisdom for growing in our love and gratitude. He writes, "Jesus once said to a self-righteous Pharisee, 'he who is forgiven little, loves little' (Luke 7:47). The opposite is obviously true. He who is forgiven much, loves much. The question for each of us then is, how much do we realize we’ve been forgiven? If we define sin largely in terms of the more flagrant sins that we don’t commit, then we will have little sense of our own sin, and little sense of forgiveness, and consequently little love for Christ."

Paul write in Romans, "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ" (Romans 10:17). The "word of Christ" is the good news about Jesus Christ as the crucified and risen Savior. We all realized how much we needed the "word of Christ" at salvation but we can't leave the gospel behind once we're saved. Paul makes this clear when writing to believers, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly..."(Colossians 3:16).

In closing, I return to the question from Jerry Bridges, "The question for each of us then is, how much do we realize we’ve been forgiven?"

Reflect upon this today and everyday and watch your love and gratitude for Jesus grow and your love for sin begin to diminish.