Why Do I Awake Each Morning Obsessed with Jesus Christ?
Over twenty-five years ago, I started waking up in the morning, skipped work (I had my own company), and read my Bible all day long at a coffee house. I was obsessed.
The reason one is obsessed with Jesus Christ is because he or she has become possessed with the Spirit of Christ (Jn 14:17; Rom 8:9, 11). The old things, the things of the world, begin to fade in one’s mind and in one’s affections.
Here is evidence of one’s conversion and daily assurance of one’s salvation. If Jesus Christ claims that He is the only way (Jn 14:6), and we profess that He is Lord (Phil 2:11), then there is evidence of a translation from the domain of darkness to the kingdom of God’s beloved Son (Col 1:13).
The old self is hostile in mind toward Christ, and one’s thoughts eventually proceed from one’s mouth (Rom 10:9–10). I was sitting in McDonald’s the other day, and two old men were sitting next to me. In the midst of their conversation, one exclaimed, “Jesus Christ, look at the time. I have to go!” Men are alienated from the life of God, outside the commonwealth of Israel, without hope in the world (Eph 2:12). Oblivious to the futility of their lives (Eph 4:17), men vainly speak of the only One who can give them meaning.
The love of God in Christ Jesus overwhelms the recipient of grace because the Holy Spirit is occupying more and more of the Christian’s focus. The kingdom of God is in fierce battle with the kingdom of this world, and the invasion, at the point of regeneration (Jn 3:1–8; Eph 2:5; Col 2:13; 1 Pet 1:3), changes the enemy of God into a child of God (Rom 5:9–10).
God could resolve all of the problems of man and the world with the word of His mouth, but history is by His design and decree. He opts to work on each living stone with intimate care, in every generation. Be not deceived, the temple is being built, and every believer is being hand-crafted to fit into his or her place (Eph 2:19–22).
Learning the kingdom of God is never dull, much to the amazement and chagrin of those outside of it. Sadly, there are fringe elements to Christianity that either appear licentious or legalistic to those spying out Christian liberty in recipients of abounding grace. Christianity is not a free-for-all in worldliness because of grace, nor is it a set of rules to comply with, but rather, it is a relationship that transforms a person. We daily walk with a perfect friend, and His influence has its effect.
Being near Jesus Christ, through mutual indwelling, is called union with Christ. It is the ultimate love affair, bound by covenant promises, which guarantee that His love for His people is not going away (Rom 8:35–39). Christians are about as faithful to Christ as Gomer, the prostitute, was to her husband, the prophet Hosea.
Can a prostitute be made pure? All things with God become possible because He has already set His mind to it from eternity. In the presence of holy love, that is, in the presence of Christ, we are becoming holy. He washes the Christian with His word (Eph 5:26), and purifies with His Spirit (1 Pet 1:2), and even though that process is never complete in this life, why would you want anything else? I am obsessed with His love and I marvel at the truth with which He has raptured me.
Our God is a consuming fire (Dt 4:24; Heb 12:29), burning away the dross of the lust of the world and the fleshly mind, and in this, He has made me glad (Neh 8:10). It’s a new day here in the Inland Northwest…hmmm…what should I do?
David Norczyk
Spokane Valley, Washington
March 5, 2022
