Paul's marvelously rich phrase shows us that Christ is the source of our life. "He made you alive when you were dead in your sins." The same voice that called Lazarus out of the tomb has raised us to new life. But there's more. He is now the substance of our spiritual life. We live by his life. He is in us, the hope of glory, the spring behind every action, the central thought that moves every other thought.

Christ is the sustenance of our life. What else can a Christian feed on but the flesh and blood of Jesus? "This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that anyone may eat it and not die." O wayworn pilgrims wandering through this wilderness of sin: you will never find a single crumb to satisfy your soul's hunger except in him! Never!

Christ is the solace of our life. Every true joy flows from him. And when trouble comes? His presence is our only real comfort. There is nothing, nothing worth living for but him. His loving-kindness is better than life itself!

Christ is the object of our life. Watch how a ship races toward its port. That's how the believer speeds toward the haven of the Savior's heart. See how an arrow flies to its target. That's how the Christian flies toward perfect fellowship with Christ Jesus. A soldier fights for his captain and shares in his captain's victory. Just so, the believer fights for Christ and finds triumph in his Master's triumphs. "For me to live is Christ."

Christ is the exemplar of our life. Here's the principle: where his life pulses within, it must show on the outside. It has to. If we live in close fellowship with the Lord Jesus, we will grow to look like him. We set him before us as our divine pattern. We seek to walk in his footsteps until he becomes the crown of our life in glory.

Oh! How safe, how honored, how happy is the Christian! Why? Because Christ is our life!