What Does New Life In Christ Look Like?

We’ve heard of dramatic Christian conversion stories in response to the Gospel, but what about people who are already living a positive, responsible lifestyle? What does new life in Christ look like for them?

From what he told me, a soft-spoken young electrician named Alex was one of those people. I talked with him in the electrical aisle at a Home Depot, and he told me how he had attended a Christian church as a child, but now focuses his time and energy on working his job in order to take care of his wife and elderly parents, immigrants from China who don’t speak English.

My impression was that Alex was very busy with work and family responsibilities, to the point that adding the pursuit of Christian faith and church might be seen as a threat to the responsibilities he already has. He mentioned that it might be something he would do later in life, but I know, as they say, “tomorrow never comes” – despite all our good intentions.

I know Jesus instructs us, at the end of Luke 9, that once we “put our hand to the plow” in following him, we are not to look back. And Jesus actually said this in reference to family obligations. Does that mean a new life of faith for someone like Alex means he will need to shirk his work or family responsibilities?

Absolutely not. Yes, Jesus becomes our King and Lord of our lives, but not in the sense of having yet another set of obligations to add to our already full list. To put Jesus first in our lives doesn’t mean having another category or compartment to add to everything else – it means that he is to become intimately involved as Lord of every other area of life – Lord of our work, Lord of our family, Lord even of our free time.

There is a sense in which a follower of Jesus needs to regularly set aside time of devotion to the Lord in worship, prayer, Bible reading and the like, and I wouldn’t want to downplay its importance.

But a faith relationship with Jesus means that he becomes part of every other area of our lives as well. In my experience, my devotion to the Lord meant that I became a devoted athlete, a devoted student, a devoted family man and a devoted teacher.

Our devotion to Jesus adds immeasurable more meaning, purpose and excellence to each other area of life as a result. This is the sort of life the Gospel calls us to, and to which I called Alex there in the aisle at Home Depot.