In order to put this matter into practice, we need to know the secret of maintaining our abiding in Him and His abiding in us. First of all, we need to have the revelation that we are in Christ. I would even suggest that we place these two words in Christ in a frame and hang it on our wall. We are now in Christ, but do we have the full realization that we are in Him? If we have the intention to abide in Christ, the first thing we need to see is that we are already in Him. If you ask me where I am right now, I will tell you that I am in Christ. I am not merely in Seattle or Sacramento or San Francisco; I am a person in Christ. As we are branches of Christ, we are one with Christ. In this universe there is such a vine, and each of us is one of His branches. If we see this, we will be beside ourselves. We will be “crazy,” telling everyone that we are in Christ. It is not a small matter to be in Christ. One day I do believe and expect that many of us will see the revelation that we are in Christ. When we see this, we will be so joyous. We may feel that even the universe is too small for us. We will be so excited that we will run to tell others. It is a glorious thing to be in Christ.
If we maintain our standing and position in Christ, we will enjoy the constant flowing of the life of Christ within us. We will continually remain in fellowship with Christ, who is within us. We will always have His presence and smiling face. Then, whenever we discover a problem between us and Christ, we should go to Him right away and open to Him, telling Him, “Lord, there is a problem. What is the matter?” Similarly, whenever we intend to do something, we have to speak to the Lord first concerning what we intend to do. If we are going to lose our temper, we need to tell the Lord, “Lord, I am going to lose my temper.” We need to speak to Him again and again, not once for all. Our speaking to Him is just like breathing. We do not breathe once for all. Even when we are sleeping, we are still breathing. Neither can we graduate from breathing. We may graduate from a school after four years of study, but we cannot graduate from eating, drinking, and breathing. If we “graduate,” we will die. We cannot graduate from life; we must continue in life matters all day long. As long as a light switch is on, we have light. Whenever it is off, there is darkness. We may have the idea that the Lord wants to give us a big “battery” so that one empowering from Him will last us for at least three years. The Lord will never give us such a battery. He desires to be like a current of electricity that is transmitted into us time and time again. We have to switch on and always keep ourselves in contact with Him so that we may enjoy Him. Whenever we realize that there is insulation between us and the Lord, we have to go to Him and ask Him what it is.
The secret to being a living Christian is not merely to listen to messages, learn doctrines, or gain knowledge in letters. The secret is to practice staying in contact with Christ continuously. He is the vine, and we are one of the branches. We need to practice abiding in Him and always maintain the sense of life within. We can make sure that a current of life is flowing within us all the time by keeping a sweet fellowship between us and Him. We will learn to sense His presence within. Then, whatever we do, whatever we speak, and wherever we go, we will maintain His smiling presence by the flow of life within us. This is a proof that we are abiding in Him and He is abiding in us.
When we rise up every morning, there is no need to go to Him to pray for so many things, asking Him for help to do this and that. The first thing that we should take care of in the morning is to go to the Lord to be nourished by Him. Even to sustain our physical body, the first thing we should have every morning is a nourishing breakfast. In principle it is the same for our spiritual life. Each day in the morning we should speak to Christ, saying, “Lord, now I come to You. You are my table. You are my feast, and You are my breakfast. I want to feed on You and drink of You. Praise You that You are my life, my food, and my daily supply.” He will take care of everything that we need, for He knows what we need better than we do. Therefore, to ask Him to do this and that for us is not only wrong but foolish.
Many sisters are too worried about their husbands and their children. This occupies their prayer time very much, so that when they pray, they ask the Lord to take care of their husbands and children and to protect them from accidents. Other sisters pray earnestly about being a good mother and a good wife, asking the Lord for help and patience. The Lord surely knows how to take care of our husband and our children. We should just praise Him and look to Him. By eating Him, contacting Him, and enjoying Him, we will be filled with Him. He will fill us with joy, peace, energy, and His refreshing life. Then all day we will be persons full of Christ.
At noontime when you feel that you need lunch, go to the Lord again, saying, “Lord, it is time for me to come to You again. I am coming to You to be fed.” Look to the Lord, wait on Him, and take Him into you as your supply. You will be refreshed again and again. During the evening time you can go to Him yet a third time. You may say, “Lord, now it is dinner time. This is the third meal of the day. I can still take something more of You into me as food.” If we enjoy the Lord day by day in such a way, we will see what kind of powerful Christians we will be. We will accomplish many things without any self-effort. The issue will be the overflow of Christ. We will bear fruit again and again. This is the Christian life.
I hope that we will have a change in our way of being Christians. It is not the way of knowledge, teaching, doctrine, work, or toil but the way of life. We must give up all of the other ways and take the way of life, realizing that the Triune God is everything to us in Christ and as the Spirit. Then Christ will be our life and everything to us. This very Christ now indwells us, and we are in Him. We need to realize this glorious fact and take it by faith. Learn to always stay in contact with this living person, who is Christ Himself. Then we will surely grow up and bear fruit. May the Lord be gracious to us in such a way.