Daily Encouragementنموونە

You began by receiving Jesus as Lord. There is no other way to begin. “Christ” it has been said, “is the sum of Christian teaching,” and we may add that receiving Christ is the sum of all Christian experience. There is a great simplicity about receiving him. It is an act of faith. Yet the result is profound, for Christ is received as Saviour and Lord. It is the beginning of a new life, marked by a sense of sin forgiven, by submission to Christ and by a song of praise in the heart.

The way to go on is to continue as you began. All subsequent experience is a fuller experience of the initial experience. You received him by faith and “through faith” Christ is to dwell in your heart (Eph. 3:16-17) - the meaning of the word “to dwell” here is “to settle down.” It implies permanent residence rather than mere lodging. You received him - there is a finality about that. But in another sense you live by receiving more of him, as in a marriage where love matures.

All subsequent teaching is a plumbing of the depths of the original teaching. To “continue to live in him” means growth in experience and knowledge - you are “rooted and built up in him.” The sign of effective growth is thankfulness. Progress and praise go hand in hand.