The second expression of life is freshness. What is it to be fresh? To be fresh is to be vigorous and living. When you meet a saint with the appearance of oldness, you know that he has not been living in the Spirit. One who lives in the Spirit is renewed daily and never gets old. A certain saint once testified that in 1933 he met an elderly Christian brother in Europe. This elderly brother was already over eighty years of age at that time and was not able to hear well. But when the saint fellowshipped with this brother, he enjoyed his spiritual freshness. According to his physical body, this elderly brother was not able to hear or speak much, but when people came to him, they could sense his inward freshness. This elderly man would hold the saint’s hand steadily and firmly and say, “Brother, to this day I cannot live without Him, and He cannot live without me.” Who is this “He”? This “He” is the Lord. How sweet a statement this is: “I cannot live without Him, and He cannot live without me.” These two sentences are so fresh! This brother did not need to use thousands of words. Rather, in two sentences he was able to cause others to touch God. This proves that he was inwardly living and fresh and had the presence of God.
The third expression of life is brightness. One who lives in the Spirit and touches the Spirit will be bright. There was once a famous preacher. By reading his writings, you could not get a sense of his person; however, when you listened to his speaking for the Lord on the podium, you could realize that he was as transparent as glass and as clear as crystal. This was because he was a man in the spirit.
Sometimes when you contact a person, you feel like you are touching a wall, a big stone, or a cave. Once you contact him, you have an unfortunate feeling. You feel as if you have fallen into a cave, an underground vault, or some place that is very dark and without any light or brightness. At other times, however, when you meet someone else and spend a brief amount of time with him, you feel that there is light and that everything is bright. The reason that a person lacks brightness is not because he does not have life within but because he is not living in the Spirit. Once a person lives in the Spirit, he touches the Spirit and has life because the Spirit is life. Life is the light that shines on man (cf. John 1:4). Once we touch life, this life is light. This is the third expression of life.
The fourth expression of life is strength. Life is powerful and does not fear anything. The wind cannot hurt life. Rather, it helps life to grow. The reason grass does not grow well sometimes is that it is not exposed to sunlight or wind. The places where grass grows well are the places where there is ample sunlight and moderate wind. Many times the exposure to sunlight, the blowing of the wind, and the beating of the rain do not destroy life. Instead, they help life to grow because life is strong and powerful.
There was once a certain person who was stumbled because the usher arranged for him to sit under a fan in the meeting. Because of this he never came to the meeting again. This is a weak Christian. We must realize that when a man is weak to the uttermost, he dies. Death is the expression of someone who is weak to the uttermost. The more living a person is, the stronger he is and the more life-energy he has, because life causes man to be strong. If we are such people, we will not be stumbled if we are asked to sit under a fan. We will not fall even if we are put in the basement. With life, the more the difficulties, the stronger the wind, and the harder the rain, the more it will grow. May the Lord have mercy on us to strengthen us that our expression may prove that we are living in spirit and in life.
Finally, these four points added together issue in peace and satisfaction, not emptiness or poverty. The living of some Christians is empty, dissatisfied, uneasy, uncomfortable, and rough, as if a hand were grasping them every day. Sometimes when they want to go to a movie, it is as if a hand grabs them from within. When they want to quarrel with others, a hand again grabs them from within. After they have quarreled with someone, they may lie on their bed, and even though the bed is restful, their inner being is unrestful because a hand is still grasping them. When they come to the meeting, they feel uneasy whether they sit or stand. When the bread is broken, everyone is joyful, but they can neither cry nor smile. It is as if they are suspended in mid-air. This kind of Christian does not have rest, peace, or joy because he has not touched the spirit or received life. Romans 8:6 says that when we touch the spirit, we touch life; and when life comes, peace is there.
The issue of these four conditions or expressions is peace. Peace includes satisfaction. Once we touch life, our inner being becomes living, fresh, bright, strong, and satisfied. Once we are satisfied, we have peace within. Whether we sit or stand, we have peace. Even when we are sitting in an uncomfortable place, we have peace. When we come to the Lord’s table meeting, we are all the more joyful. We are able to praise the Lord and say amen to others’ praises. The reason we can have such peace is that we are satisfied, and the reason we are satisfied is that we are living, fresh, bright, and strong within. This is the sphere and the realm of our Christian living and the beautiful condition of our being in spirit and in life.