“Builded together.” Interesting words. Together they mean that, being in Christ, He does not only keep union with me, but I must hold communion with Him. This is the life that the believer must live.
I must participate in His death. It is not enough that I stand beneath His Cross and look at it as the payment of my debt and the price of my freedom. I must regard myself also, as it were, crucified there with Him. It will give me a greater measure of the weight of my sin. It will enliven my holiness and increase my assurance that all is well. If I died with Christ, I could not die again.
But I also must take part in His experience. He was born in Bethlehem, so I must clothe myself in His humility. He was raised in Nazareth, so I must be clothed in His patience. Jesus went about doing good so that I would clothe myself in His diligence and work. Jesus went alone to the mountainside, so I must clothe myself in His Spirit of prayer. Christ took the cup of Gethsemane, so I must clothe myself in His submission to the Father's will. I am not Christ's, nor Christ's mine unless we are builded together.
I also must participate in His mission. It is still His heart's work to seek and save that which is lost. Is that my mission also? In His stead, am I “beseeching others” to be reconciled to God? As one laborer in His vineyard, I am to labor for the harvest of souls. I have been all too indifferent. May God clarify my faint eyes until I see the sin and misery around me. At times I care more for other’s sins than for their souls: same object, different motive. Christ was always concerned for souls.
I desire, one day, to enter His glory. It is not simply that I will be led into that City. There is something better still. He will draw me closer with the mortar of things begun on earth. Such a perfect union that I will sit beneath His throne, enjoy His dominion, and unrestricted access to the Father. Of these things, no believer can speak at length. Neither language nor thought is deep enough for it. But, some summer morning, I shall awaken and understand.
Oh, but first, I must be builded together with Christ in His death, experience, and mission. This kind of glory follows obedience to cross-bearing. Dear one, Christ's heaven is kept for those who drink the wine in the bitter cup of Christ, and are baptized in His baptism’s cold and swelling waters. Then comes the eternal peace of being united with Him.