Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. John 14:19
The exchanged life is a life of complete dependence, yet special privilege. As part of the world, I lived my own life. I chose my priorities, actions, and attitude. Whatever I wanted to do, whatever expressed who I thought I was, that is what I did. But when I exchanged my life for the life of Christ, I lost control. Now Christ determines my priorities, actions, and attitude. The realities of His character and sovereignty are the guides that I conform to as I live out Christ in me.
While some would think that losing control would make life pointless, it actually does the opposite. I would never be able to find on my own the things that give purpose to life, but Christ has lead me into a life of rich meaning. I realized that losing control was the point of life, that all along Christ gave me a free will so that I could give myself back to Him. By giving up control, I found what I would have never found by being in control. I found out what it is to live by faith, and through faith have seen the miracles of an almighty God at work (vs. 12-13).
Christ promised that “because I live, ye shall live also.” That means that the exchanged life is a secure life. I rarely knew how my decisions would affect me in the long run, but have no such worries now that I’ve exchanged my life for Christ’s. My life is tied up in His, and as long as He lives, and as wonderfully as He lives, so I live. I still struggle to trust Him at times and still get hurt when I go my own way, but to the extant that I submit my life to Him, I have a life of true significance – not my life, but Christ in me.
