In Means In

God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, “We are his offspring.” Acts 17:27-28 (NIV).

If money wasn't an object, where would you live? Would you pick:

-  a city apartment, loft or condo close to shopping, restaurants and ugh, work;

-  a mountain top retreat with spectacular views and extreme privacy;

-  a house on the beach complete with sun, surf and cool breezes?

The choices are plentiful. What if you could live outside of earth’s realm, would you do it? What if you already do?

Although never mentioned by name, the apostle Luke is the presumed author of the book of Acts. He resided in that realm and claimed all believers could also. Many Christians are unaware of this important truth. Why is this happening?

A large portion of the church discounts the supernatural. Feet firmly planted on terra firma and concepts of biblical doctrine grounded in logic and reason, the supernatural is relegated to a hoped for and not a live by experience. Tragically there are non-believers who are more knowledgeable about spiritual dynamics, albeit from the wrong side.

God provided a pictorial illustration of Acts 17:28 back in the days of the Tabernacle. Hebrews 9:4 describes three items stored in the Ark of the Covenant: a gold jar containing manna, Aaron’s rod that budded and the stone tablets we call the Ten Commandments. The Ark, covered by the Mercy Seat was the residence of the manifest presence of God. The aforementioned items resided in Him.

Manna correlates to live in verse 28. The daily source of sustenance for the Israelites in the wilderness, it was their sole means of survival. Eat manna or die. We receive our very life from Christ also, something we need to do on a day by day basis. Outside of the Ark, the manna would spoil. Outside of Him, our life disintegrates.

Aaron’s rod equates with move. This rod confirmed Aaron’s calling as the designated High Priest. Appointed by God Himself, believers share this same destiny: “…and has appointed us as a kingdom, as priests serving his God and Father,” Rev. 1:6. Only in Him will we find our unique purpose, our reason for living.

The stone tablets or the Ten Commandants represent have our being. Jewish scholars believe the Pentateuch or first five books of the bible are a picture of a ketubah, a Jewish marriage contract. The Ten Commandants reflect the portion where the bride and groom outlined their expectations of their prospective spouse. These conditions are better understood as the groom’s expression of his ability to care for his bride. She should not feel the need to resort to these behaviors because he will provide more than adequately for her. Our Groom will also more than meet and exceed our expectations of Him. He defined reasonable behaviors for His bride to agree with.

Our very lives, our destinies and identities are all found in Him. And In means IN! Not a nice theoretical idea, in Him is a real place where we can live.

What about you? How would you describe in Him? If the idea of this has never occurred to you before, what can you do to make it a reality in your life? Take confidence that you are in Him. Is there really any safer place to live? I doubt it.