The Much More of Life
What is the much more of life? This was a question we asked our students as they arrived from eleven different countries—Iceland, Mongolia, Australia, Uzbekistan, Austria, Poland, Switzerland, Sweden, Germany, America and Canada. With sleep still in the eyes, but excitement in the heart, students penciled what they thought the much more of life could be. Let me ask you, what do you think is the much more of life? Yes, a somewhat vague and maybe out-of-context question, but the Bible gives us a very specific answer when put in its right context. Watch the video below to see if your response matches that of any of our students, and then if you are still curious and want to know the much more of life, please read on as I share from our theme verse for this year.
So, what is the much more of life? It must be Jesus, right? Well, He is definitely a major part in the sum total of the much more of life, but not a lone figure in it. In Philippians 2:12-13, our theme verse for this year, Paul tells these “beloved” saints to continue obeying, not only as they have done in his presence, but now much more in his absence by working out their salvation because of God who is at work in them. So the much more of life, that Scripture encourages us to continue in every day, is obedience to the work of God in our lives as the day-to-day expression of our salvation. The only reason we can “work out our salvation” is because God, by the Holy Spirit, is working in us what Christ made possible through His life, death, and resurrection. Paul does not want to be the go-to of their salvation, but rather God who began it and will bring it to completion.
This picture, painted by our local artist, Elke Bierau, captures the essence of these verses. The central focus of this picture is a used cross that is now empty with a fruitful grape vine leaning against it along with some gardening tools. To work out one’s salvation is to keep the Gospel the focus of one’s life—a dependence on the death Jesus died for our sins and the life He now lives—making the much more of life possible. We need an empty cross as much as we need a used cross, and the work of keeping the Gospel the focus of our lives will require, like this gardener, the obedience to maintain its truths in our lives and remove sin from our lives. What a relief to know that equipping this work of obedience every day in our lives is the power of God. Whether you are a Holsby alumni or a guest to our FikaTime blog, I encourage you to keep living or begin living in the much more of life…today.
