Have you ever heard of an ‘ambigram?’ An ambigram is a word or phrase drawn in such a way as to be legible right side up and upside down! There is a very talented tattoo artist named Mark Palmer who has created a bunch of these unique pieces of art. He has one where the word ‘Faith’ turned upside down becomes the word ‘Hope.’ There’s another that renders the word ’Glory’ so that it appears exactly the same whether you view it from one direction or the other. I think if I had some discretionary income I’d commission him to draw me an ambigram that read, “Christ in Me” in one direction and “Me in Christ” in the other.
Paul is really focusing on this “ambi-glorious” reality in today’s text. He says that the glorious riches of the mystery of God is “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” He says as we received Christ, we ought also to continue to live in Christ. He lives in us and we live in Him. What an amazing relationship. Like an ambigram, each element is wound up and twined together with the other.
Certain of the letters of an ambigram go through wild contortions to achieve the desired effect. They look almost pained. Paul says Christ still suffers for His bride, the church, and that we who are in Him are suffering with Him. It’s not all peace and light being in Christ. But Paul also says that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are in Him. He says that in Christ we can be rooted and strengthened and built up. There is reward far beyond the pain that comes from being in Christ. And perfection in heaven is a sure thing because Christ is in us.
All of this is the reason it is called the ‘gospel,’ the good news. And yet there is labor and deception and struggle in this life that would move us away from that hope; that would attempt to replace the good news with bad. Don’t believe it. Don’t surrender to it. Don’t be worn down and defeated by it. Paul exhorts – “Continue in faith! Establish yourself; stand firm! Do not be moved!” Don’t miss the personal pronoun in verse 29. “I labor, struggling with all HIS energy …” Don’t wrestle with the enemy in your own power; wrestle with the Lord’s energy which works powerfully IN you. Because Christ is IN you. And you are IN Him.
And there’s nothing ambiguous about that.
Pray: Jesus, I believed in You and received You and have become a child of God. You live in me and I live in You. Help me to live out of that glorious mystery. I don’t understand it all. But I do know, it is where true life, love and hope are found. I have written your Name upon my hand (Isa. 44:5) and upon my heart. And mine is upon Yours.
See the ambigrams at www.byMarkPalmer.com
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