"If we really believe in Jesus, we know he is the Messiah. We also know that we are joined to him in all his kingly glory. We know that he is the second Adam who has brought forth a new humanity, and we know that we are part of that new race. We know that he is a perfect priest who has offered a perfect sacrifice, and that God accepts us as perfect because of this. Therefore, our consciences should be void of guilt and our hearts full of gratitude, no matter how poorly we have lived out this freedom. We know that his kingly power can conquer sin and rule in our thoughts, words and actions, and we are committed to this rule. We know that he is very close to us, that he has taken up residence in our lives and wants to be more intimately related to us than any other person. We know that he has broken the powers of darkness and has equipped us to resist and destroy their influence.
"As we live in the focused light of this knowledge, we will continually be spiritually renewed. Our object should be to keep the visual field of our minds full of this truth - to walk in the light of truth, as if it were a spotlight accompanying our steps across the stage of daily experience. As the Apostle John says, 'I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth' (3 John 4)."
Richard Lovelace, Renewal as a Way of Life (Exeter: Paternoster, 1985), pages 159-160. Italics original.
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