Living Triumphantly - Martin Wiles

And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory. Colossians 1:27 NLT

Until he drew the Excalibur sword from the stone, he was a back-alley dweller.

“King Arthur: Legend of the Sword” was a high-tech production with a plot I couldn’t follow. Arthur’s father had been murdered. His uncle, Vortigern, seized control of the throne and had Arthur assigned to back-alley living.

Vortigern increased his power by sacrificing people and feeding them to an octopus who lived in the bowels of the city. Arthur, meanwhile, lived out his days as a ruffian, not knowing his heritage. Brawling and vile living was his style. Until fate led him to grasp the legendary sword. Once the sword was removed from the stone, Arthur knew who he was. He defeated his uncle and assumed his rightful place as king of his kingdom.

Paul gives the secret of living triumphantly. Most of the Old Testament Jews had failed to do so. Perhaps now that the gospel was going to Gentiles, they might discover the secret those from previous generations had not: Christ lived in them.

Why anyone would want to live less than triumphantly, I’m not sure. But even though I want to, I often have not. Living triumphantly means I must die to sinful practices. In another place, Paul told believers to consider themselves dead to sin (Romans 6:11). Although I’ll never be sinless, I can live in such a way that sin is the exception rather than the rule. This is possible because Christ lives in me and promises to show me a way out of every sinful temptation.

I must also keep my body pure and clean—and not just with hygienic practices. As a believer, my body is a temple of God’s Spirit. As the people of the Old Testament kept the Tabernacle and later the Temple clean, I should keep all things out of my body that would harm it—physically, spiritually, emotionally.

Walking worthy of my calling is the other key to triumphant living. Arthur didn’t until he discovered who he was. I’m a child of the King too. God sees me as holy and blameless (Colossians 1:22) because I’m in Christ. Walking worthy of my calling means living out in practice the person I am in position.

Triumphant living should be your norm, and God gives you the power to do it. Lean on Him and watch your life transform.

Tweetable: Do you know how to live triumphantly?

Prayer: Father, prompt us to depend on Your power so that we might live triumphant lives. 

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