“Living Large”

“…to a mature person, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.” Ephesian 4:13

Are you living large, or are you living small? Let me clarify: to me, living large is    living more moments of my life in the fullness of Christ in me, being all I am meant to be, and doing all that the Holy Spirit leads me to do. Conversely, living small is not living up to my full potential in Christ, struggling to have my faith meet the challenges of living holy in a fallen world. Consider the following:

First, are we living small or large when it comes to temptation? 1 Corinthians 10:13 declares—No temptation has overtaken you but such as I common to man: and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. Okay, wow, this hits home. Notice the truths here:

Everyone is tempted; not in the exact same way, but absolutely every person is tempted.

Each temptation has the DNA to take us out, it has the ability to “overtake” us; it is those outside “forces” that seek to overwhelm the believer and subdue them.

God will not allow these temptations to be so overwhelming that we have no choice but to sin. He draws the line in the sand, giving temptation only so much leash.

There is always an escape route, always! Every temptation has a built-in, God-given exit strategy.

We live large when we consciously look for the way out of temptation, God’s key to the door. Living small means, we either ignore indicators of escape or become blind to their presence. I’ve experienced both, refusing to accept the Spirit’s guidance out of the danger zone (small) and running for the door (large). Which one is true for you?

Second, are we living small or large in the realm of evangelism (sharing our faith)? Far too many Christians live compartmentalized and fragmented lives, relegating matters of the spiritual journey to lesser known and underdeveloped places. Jesus gave the mandate in Matthew 28:19, Go…and make disciples of all the nations…. Remember that the emphasis is on the going, literally “as you go about your day, as you go about your business.” The church of the west has certainly been guilty of making evangelism a slick three-minute presentation with an invitation attached at the end. Memorize the game plan and then go out and practice it on people (I’ve been there myself). There is a place for this, no doubt, but Jesus often told His followers to simply “tell others what great things the Lord has done for you” (I’m thinking of the demoniac of the tombs that Jesus healed and restored). Living small makes evangelism an arduous task that we’re never really excited about and rarely engage in. Living large, however, actively shares the “God-in-me-life” everywhere I go, in everything I do. Which one is true for you?

Third, do we live large or small in matters of spiritual warfare? First, we must admit that we are in an epic spiritual battle, one that was already present when we arrived on this planet, and one that will be raging until the very end of time. It’s right to consider Ephesians 6:10-17 where Paul describes the equipment for the spiritual battle—helmet, shield, etc. We see these are primarily defensive in nature, though I’m not convinced we should do so. A football player doesn’t dress in full uniform simply to take the blows the opposing team vents on them. They move forward into the fray of the battle (game) with every intention of winning the match, inflicting blows of their own as they go. Remember that Jesus said in Luke 10:19—Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy… We live large when we confidently enter each day as a warrior in God’s kingdom ready to take on the gates of hell. But we live small when we shrink from the conflict, feel inadequate for the challenge, escape the front lines for safer confines. Which one is true for you?

Living large is the not only the challenge of the faith journey but the expectation of living in the Kingdom of Christ. Looking back over my own journey I have seen where I’ve lived small. Now I want to live large! The three examples I mentioned—temptation, declaring the gospel truth, confronting the enemy—are merely the tip of the iceberg. The place to start is living large in relationship to Christ, seeking and savoring Him in every aspect of my being. All else flows out of this. Are you ready to live large for Christ and His Kingdom? Let’s do this.

Blessings on the Journey,

Pastor Dewayne