I Don’t Have to Live—But I Am Alive in Christ

The road ahead is not uncertain—it is secure in Christ, who is my life, now and forever.

Devotional Reflection on E. Stanley Jones’ In Christ

E. Stanley Jones reflects on the limitations of human achievement, including advances in science and technology, in prolonging life. He acknowledges that while medical progress may extend one’s ability to function and thrive beyond middle age, it cannot prevent the ultimate reality of physical death. If one’s hope is rooted in human effort, the result is merely a delayed but inevitable decline. However, for those in Christ, there is no such fear, for life is not bound to the body but anchored in the eternal reality of union with Him.

Jones shares an astoundingly beautiful shift in perspective—one that is completely liberating. He recalls being told that survival in India required drinking alcohol. His response was simple yet radical: “I don’t have to live, I can die.” This is the confidence of one who knows that life in Christ transcends physical survival. The Christian life is not a desperate clinging to existence but a joyful surrender to the One who holds all things, both now and forever. Because we are in Christ, nothing in the future can separate us from the life that is already ours. Death, for the believer, is not loss but entry into larger life.

This truth is revolutionary: I don’t have to live—not in the sense of fatalism, but in the reality that my existence is no longer tethered to earthly outcomes. I am free from the fear of decline, free from the pressure to preserve, extend, or make something of my life on my own terms. In Christ, I do not live in mere mortality but in His endless, abundant life.

Journal Reflection

Lord, I am in You, and You are in me. That settles everything.

The world scrambles to preserve what is passing. It clings to health, wealth, and achievements as if they could shield it from the inevitable. But You have freed me from that grasping. My life is not my own to sustain, prolong, or perfect—it is Yours, flowing with an eternal vitality that will never diminish.

I see how easily the world sells the illusion of control: “Stay young! Stay relevant! Stay in the race!” But what race am I even running? I no longer strive to keep up with a world that is running toward its own exhaustion. I walk in step with You, never hurried, never fearful, always alive in the fullness of Your presence.

If my body weakens, I do not lose my strength in spirit, for You are my life. If my years advance, I do not grow old in spirit, for I am eternally renewed in You. If the world’s expectations tell me that I should fear the future, I smile, because my future is hidden in You. There is nothing ahead but more of You—whether here or in Your unveiled glory.

And so, Lord, I don’t have to live—but in You, I will never die.

Prayer of Confidence

Father, I rejoice in the life that is mine in Christ! You have freed me from the fear of time, decay, and death. I rest in the unshakable truth that I am not sustained by human effort but by Your life within me. Every moment ahead is already secure in You, and no matter what comes, I am never separated from the abundant life You have given me. Thank You that my days are not measured by the world’s standards but by the reality of eternity. In Christ, I have all things—life now, life forever. Amen.