No Alternative

"Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."" John 14:6(NIV)

by Alexandra Copeland

Over two thousand years ago, Jesus Christ told the disciples in John 15:20, 21 (NLT), “The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you. Do you remember what I told you? ‘A slave is not greater than the master.’ Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you." Our blessed Lord and Savior was preparing them for what was to come in their present time. He was grooming them for a time in their lives that would be unlike anything they had ever experienced. He didn’t coddle with soft, easy words. He didn’t tell them with a lie. He prepared them for their futures, and the only way to prepare anyone for what is to come is to tell them the truth.

Jesus Christ must have known that the truth would be uncomfortable for them, but this did not alter his course. One can imagine how unsettling it must have been to hear the words that were spoken by Jesus. They had relied upon him so heavily, and had been firsthand witnesses to the extraordinary miracles, signs, and wonders that he performed. Never before had there been anyone like Jesus. He was dynamic in every way; with love, compassion, and power that knew no limit. Their attachment to him is easily understood, yet he refused to allow them to become stuck or stagnant. He came to earth to provide the way to God. This was a work that could not be spared. It had to be done. He was the only one who could restore the connection that was lost between humanity and Heavenly Father. There was no other alternative.

God’s Word is true. It does not coddle our immaturity or refusal to grow up in Christ. It does not give us a rosy picture of the world or what is happening all around us. For many people, the things that are happening today are a mystery. They don’t understand them. This should not be the case for those of us that are in Christ. God’s Word has told us about the world, and He has told us what to expect.

Just as Jesus Christ prepared the disciples to face what was to come in their present time, God, through His Word, has equipped us for what is to come. Whether we chose to put it on and walk in the preparation that God has provided is a whole other matter. If we continue on a course that leads us away from God’s provision and Word, we will find ourselves without the essentials to be protected, flexible, and ahead of the game. 

Life will continue moving at what seems to us to be an accelerated pace. It will not slow down and wait for us to catch up. Knowing this gives John 6:63(KJV) a greater depth. Jesus Christ said in this verse, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing.” The Spirit that indwells us also quickens us. This word ‘quicken’ means to give increase of life; to spiritually arouse and invigorate with greater power. He, the Spirit, quickens us and causes us to be relevant. He knows the future, for Jesus Christ declared in John 16:13 that the Spirit will tell us what is to come. 

The Spirit dwells inside of us. Our bodies are temples of God, and they house the Holy Spirit. Everything that you and I need is inside of us because of what Jesus Christ accomplished for us through his life, death, resurrection, and ascension. Some of us do not believe this, and it is why we continue to walk without the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Let me tell you why this is so dangerous. We are now living in a time when life is moving in a direction where spiritual power is not only crucial, it is required to go where God is taking us. There are those that are quaking in their boots. They are experiencing turmoil in their circumstances, and it has left them feeling quite low. They may even think that God has abandoned them. He has not. His Word is going forth. His prophecies are being fulfilled, and He has equipped us to take our rightful place as more than conquerors in Christ. No matter what is happening around us, we have been marked out, strategically positioned, and divinely appointed to stand as lights in this dark and troubled world. We have no alternative. 

Now is the time to press into God more than ever. We have no other choice. We are going to have to make up our minds as to whether we will believe God and trust His Word, or whether we’ll continue walking in fear and ignorance. Jesus Christ said in John 5:19 (NIV), “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” Our beloved Master did only what his Father did. This was his allegiance. This is the mind of Christ. As joint-heirs with Christ, and sons and daughters of the Most High, this too must be our modus operandi. 

It is not our power, it’s God’s. It’s not our strength. It’s God’s strength. He quickens us through the Spirit that indwells us. He fortifies us and causes us to be in the right place at the right time. It’s His wonder working power that activates our lives and makes us able to be a blessing. We owe no less to ourselves and to all those we love than to be filled with His power and love, and to take on His nature as we glean more knowledge about Him through His Word.

God cannot be our second. He must be the first. A lot of Christians will say that they’ve made Him first, but their lives do not paint this picture. When God is first, nothing matters more than pleasing Him. It’s just the way it is. When God is first in your life, your principle motivation is to make sure that He is pleased with what you’re doing, when you’re doing it, where you’re doing it, and how you’re doing it. When God is first, there is no other alternative for you; you’re going to flat out live for Him because you crave Him in your life. You can’t do without Him.

There is no alternative to living by the spirit. There is no alternative to living by faith. We belong to God and He has called us with a holy calling. We don’t have to live in fear. Our responsibility and privilege is to rise up in our faith and walk in Christ as we never have before. Jesus Christ freed us from the curse of the law, and we shouldn’t allow fear to put us back under it. 2Corinthians 3:17-18(NIV) tells us, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” Our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is transforming us into the people that God wanted us to be all along. We are the joy of His rejoicing, the apple of His eye, and the hope of His calling. He had alternatives, and we were His choice. ♦

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Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. 

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

 “No Alternative” written by Alexandra Copeland. Springfield Fellowship © 2016. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.