There is an old maxim used by realtors that the worth of a piece of property can be evaluated by the three L's: location, location, and location. It's where the property is located that counts. The "three L's" apply even more fully to Christianity: It's where you are located that makes the eternal difference. To be Christians, we must be in Christ.

The New Testament refers to being in Christ over ninety times. This expression is not merely Christian jargon; it proclaims the good news that being located in Jesus makes all the difference. "There is no condemnation now for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Rm 8:1). In Jesus, we have redemption (Rm 3:24), sanctification (1 Cor 1:2), freedom (Gal 2:4), and triumph (2 Cor 2:14). Nothing can "separate us from the love of God that comes to us in Christ Jesus" (Rm 8:39). God "has bestowed on us in Christ every spiritual blessing in the heavens" (Eph 1:3).

If we are not located in Christ, then we are still in the "old order" (2 Cor 5:17). We stand outside of reconciliation with God, and we look at everyone "in terms of mere human judgment" (2 Cor 5:16). When we are located in Christ, our whole existence is centered on what He is doing. We lose our own individual identity. However, we gain such a radiant identity in Him that we are made wholly new (2 Cor 5:17).

"In Him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28). Choose "life on high in Christ Jesus" (Phil 3:14).

Nihil Obstat:  Reverend Ralph J. Lawrence, November 12, 1996

Imprimatur:  †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, December 10, 1996