Wisdom Knows a Secret

It’s a typical morning.

C-Pap mask off.✔ Contoured pillows under legs removed.✔  Ice packs under elbows moved.✔  Foam boots (to prevent pressure sores) pulled off.✔  Pulled from bed onto power chair.✔ Teeth brushed.✔ Face washed.✔ Shaved. ✔ Dressed. ✔ (All done for you, not by you) ✔ Picked up and put on portable commode.✔ Back on chair.✔ Help eating breakfast.✔

And so the day begins.

My question to Wyndham:  So, how are you today?

His answer, each day: Good, I’m good.

And he means it. He is grateful for this day (as am I).  I then put his shirt on him (almost always a “Life is Good” T-shirt because they are comfortable, easy to get on and off, and have a good message). Today’s shirt reads, “Life Is Not Easy. Life Is Not Perfect. Life is Good.” That works. ✔ 

We share thoughts, usually some laughter, and a prayer. A prayer for “daily bread.” In that prayer we share a secret.

Wyndham has a secret.

Wisdom knows the secret.

The secret is this:

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
I can do all this through him who gives me strength.  (Philippians 4:12-13, emphasis added)

This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God’s people.
For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory. (Colossians 1:26-27 NLT, emphasis added)

Christ in you (and me). This is the secret—a secret that envelops our very beings. A secret that proves true day after day.

However, since these verses have been read for nearly 2,000 years by countless people it’s really no secret. Unless Christ doesn’t live in you. Then true joy, abiding peace, and solid hope seem unattainable…a secret only longed for.

This secret remains a mystery of sorts. How else could Wyndham be “good?”  How can we be deeply happy, despite a really tough situation?

It’s because of the secret.

“Christ in us” is unable to be physically seen or touched. It’s a secret to the physical 3-dimensional world in which we live. None the less, it’s real.  When we have Christ in us, the secret is revealed.

What does it mean to have Christ in us? It means we have the same power in us that raised Jesus from the dead. Do we hope for a miracle? Absolutely. But have we both already overcome death through Christ in us? The answer is a resounding “yes.”

This secret means that God pours his love into our hearts through his Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). We can feel loved, because we are. We can give love, because God keeps pouring it into our hearts. It doesn’t run out even if we are tired, or our bodies don’t work.

I have no other explanation as to why we can approach each day with joy, gratitude, and hope. And these are realities, not wishful thoughts.

The secret of Christ in us means that no matter the circumstances, we can have a deep joy,  an abiding peace that doesn’t make sense, and a hope that can’t be crushed.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)

God’s Spirit IS Christ in me. In us. Meditate on this. All the power of Christ. All the love of Christ. All the peace of Christ. The whole purpose of Christ—really and truly living inside of me—the part of me that can’t be touched but is eternal. The soul.

And this is wisdom’s secret.