A paradox of the Christian life: In order to have, we must let go. And yet we also must hold fast.
Rather than grasping things, creatures, ideas, and idols, we need to hold fast to God, the Creator and sustainer of all truth, life, and love who breathed life into the dust, the clay of our bodies.
Adam and Eve grasped the forbidden fruit. Yet even now, our family relationships are patterned after their example of marriage: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24).
As Christians, we have a similar kind of unity with one another through Christ. We are one body because we “hold fast” to the Head (Colossians 2:19). We cling to God, and as we do so, we might actually get along with others.
We are also commanded to hold fast to God (Deuteronomy 10:20), to the Word of Life (Philippians 2:16), to what is good (1 Thessalonians 5:21), our confession (Hebrews 4:14), and what we have until Jesus comes (Revelation 2:25). There’s a tenacious quality to our faith. No, we don’t squeeze Truth to death or grasp what we know so it can’t breathe; rather, we hold fast to our lifeline, the truth of Jesus Christ. Our lifeline pulls us up for air, breathes the Spirit into our lives. Like roots that hold to the soil, we abide in Christ so that we can bear fruit in the Spirit.
