Living La Vida Loca
Last night as I was talking with Holy Spirit I asked Him what He wanted me to write about for the December issue of Faith Unlimited. Immediately I heard the phrase “living la vida Loca”! The phrase sounded familiar to me and immediately my mind raced around grabbing memories of what I believed living the crazy life meant.
In my mind appeared images from a time a group I was with all went into a visionary experience, all seeing aspects of Heaven. That time Holy Spirit allowed me to enter into each of their experiences, seeing what each individual was seeing and doing, I was then able to describe it to that individual afterwards. That was crazy! Then there was the time I went into a vision while driving. When I came out of the vision I was parked in a parking space at work. I don’t have any idea how I got there except that God placed me there. That was crazy! I then remembered the time I was talking to a young man and woman that were sitting on a bench. We were talking about the difference between Islam and Christianity, Mohammed and Jesus. We discussed how both the Koran and the bible are claimed to be the word of God, they wondered how could you know who is right. That’s when Holy Spirit gave me a word of knowledge about the young man.
“You have problems with your back” I mentioned.
“Yes I do” he confirmed
“Then if by the name of Jesus your back is healed, wouldn’t you agree that Jesus is Lord?” I questioned.
“Yes” he affirmed.
“Good, then check your back because Jesus has healed you.”
I laughed within myself as a bewildered look crossed the young man’s face as he, bending from his waist and feeling his back with both hands exclaimed, “It’s gone, the pains gone!”
“Of course it is” I replied with a chuckle, “because Jesus is Lord!” That was crazy!
As mind mind continued racing around but before it could grab another memory I heard Holy Spirit whisper, “That’s not what I’m talking about. Living the crazy life isn’t living a life full of supernatural encounters and the miraculous. Living a crazy life is living a life without those things!”
I immediately understood what He was talking about. He was reminding me that we were created in both the image and likeness of God. That means we were created to have His nature and abilities. To be just like Him even though we are not Him.
Let me explain it this way. Let’s say that I was born with an identical twin, I wasn’t but let’s pretend for the sake of explanation. Now this twin and I are identical in every way. I not only look like my identical twin but we have the same abilities. We talk the same, think the same, and act identical. We even have the same talents. Most people can’t tell us apart and often get us confused. Even though people have trouble telling us apart and believe I am him, the truth is that I am not him. We may appear to be the same but I am still my own person. I am not him and he is not me. It is the same way between us and Jesus. We have been created in His image and in His likeness. We have been created to look like Him and empowered to do what He does. (John 14:12) We are to be as God on this earth but we are not God. We were just created and empowered to be His exact representative in this universe. (1 John 4:17)
In Acts Chapter 17 Paul makes an incredible statement while in Athens. While standing in the middle of the Aeropagus he declares that in Christ we live and move and have our being. Now throughout the New Testament we are clearing told that because of Jesus as the Christ that since we have participated in His death we also participate in His life. Our life is now found in Christ! That is what Paul is eluding to when he starts elaborating on our life in Christ.
Paul says in Christ we live. The word live is from the root word zoe which is God’s life, life that never ends and destroys the work of sin and the Devil. So, in Christ we find life that never ends, that heals, delivers, and prospers us. But we don’t just find God’s life in Christ, we also move in Him. The word used for move is the word Kineo. The same word we get kinetic from and it means – To put in motion. Therefore, this life we have in Christ reveals God’s life in us, sets us in motion, and we have our being in Him. Now that word being is interesting. In English, the word being means the nature or essence of a person. In Greek and in Christ the meaning is so much grander! You see, the word being used in this passage in Acts is the same word Jesus used when He declared, “Before Abraham was I AM.” The words being and I AM are the same! Can you see it now? Paul is declaring that since we are now found in Christ, we have His life which sets in motion our I Am, our divine nature! His life and being in Him declares that we are just like Him!
We are just like Him, not will be, but are right now at this moment exactly like our older brother, or Lord Jesus. As if being just like Jesus wasn’t enough, our Father God took it a step further. When He put us in Christ He also placed us at His right hand sitting with Him on His throne. The right hand is the place of authority, so when He placed you in Christ He gave you all authority of Heaven and Earth so you can rule and reign with Him as son and daughter of God. It is in that place of authority and sonship that we break the will of this fallen world and allow it to be on Earth as it is in Heaven. We confront every situation that comes against us with all the authority of the Kingdom of God and with the assurance that our loving Father will not forsake us. The supernatural is our way of life, it’s not crazy, it’s normal. Crazy is living far below your created status, allowing sickness, poverty, death, and disease have any influence in your life. Living subject to the things of this world is living la vida loca.
Glen Hartline 