One of the inspiring things about the first chapter of Ephesians is the powerful encouragement on how to keep your faith vital and strong. Notice verses 1-13; here we see no fewer than 10 instances where Paul reminds us of the fact that we are “in Christ Jesus,” or similar phrases:
- 1:1—in Christ Jesus
- 1:3—in Christ
- 1:4—in Him
- 1:5—through Jesus Christ
- 1:6—in the One He loves
- 1:7—In Him
- 1:9—in Christ
- 1:11—In Him
- 1:12—In Christ
- 1:13—in Christ
When I read these Scriptures I’m reminded of two things immediately. First, when I become a Christian I am “in Christ.” I belong to Him, I’ve been saved by Him, I’m forgiven, He is in me and I am in Him. But I am also reminded of how important it is for me to stay plugged into Christ. By that I mean, it is easy to drift, become preoccupied, lose focus, and become “disconnected” a bit if we are not careful. Not that we lose our salvation, but we lose our concentration on what’s most important. The encouragement to stay plugged into Christ is not just metaphorical, but also powerful and biblical.
One of my favorite passages in the New Testament is the allegory of the vines and the branches in John 15. Here we are reminded to remain or abide in Jesus. Like a branch must remain in the vine for nourishment and life, so we must remain in Christ for spiritual nourishment and spiritual life. And we do that through prayer, God’s Word, obedience to Christ, loving and serving others, etc.
Every night I need to plug in my cell phone to get it powered up. If I do not recharge my phone it loses its power and ceases to effectively fulfill its purpose. Similarly, to fulfill God’s purpose in our lives, we need to remain in Christ so that we can charge and recharge our lives spiritually. Take a few moments today to evaluate your life and determine if you are susceptible to losing your spiritual charge. And then make a fresh determination to plug in – and stay plugged in – to Christ.