The Great Relocation
Finding Your New Address in Christ
Finding Your New Address in Christ
For a long time, I lived like a man constantly checking his GPS, worried that I’d taken a wrong turn and ended up outside God’s favor. I spent decades on the mission field in Peru, planting churches and mentoring leaders, but deep down, I was still trying to “earn” my way into a house I already owned. I thought I had to build the address myself. However, the reality of the Gospel is much simpler and far more restful. It is what I call the “Great Relocation.”
When I was battling Stage 4 Kidney Cancer and, later, a brutal bout with COVID, my ability to “do” anything for God vanished. I couldn’t preach, I couldn’t lead, and some days, I could barely pray. In that weakness, the Lord stripped away the performance and showed me the DNA of Grace. He reminded me that I am not what I do; I am who I am in Him. Specifically, I realized that satisfaction in Jesus isn’t found in the progress of my work, but in the permanence of my position.
The Problem of the Spiritual Treadmill
Most of us treat our relationship with God like a lease that’s up for renewal every single morning. We wake up and think, “If I’m good today, if I read enough chapters, if I don’t lose my temper, then I get to stay in the house.” Consequently, we live in a state of low-grade anxiety. We love God, certainly, but we feel like we are constantly auditioning for a part we aren’t sure we’ve landed.
This is performance-based religion, and it is exhausting. It treats faith like a currency we use to buy God’s approval. But grace tells a different story. Therefore, the Christian life is not about you trying to get to God; it is about realizing that Jesus has already relocated you into His own life. You don’t get into the DNA of Grace by fixing your mess; you get in by being joined to the One who already cleaned it up.
Galatians 3:26 “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.”
Notice that the Apostle Paul doesn’t say you become a child of God by your consistency or your missionary zeal. I can tell you plainly: my years in Peru did not make me more of a son. They were simply the fruit of being a son. This is why I often say:
“The Christian life was never meant to be powered by fear, pressure, or performance. It was meant to be lived from being loved first.”
Your New Address: In, With, and Through
When we talk about being “in Christ,” we aren’t talking about a metaphor or a nice sentiment. We are talking about a legal and spiritual relocation. In the New Testament, the writers use three specific prepositions to describe our relationship with Jesus: In, With, and Through.
In Christ speaks of your belonging. It is your new spiritual address. If you move from one country to another, the laws of the old country no longer apply to you. You are under a new government and a new protector. Similarly, when you are in Christ, you are no longer under the “law of performance.” You are under the law of the Spirit of life.
With Christ speaks of union. You are joined to His death and His resurrection. Meanwhile, your old identity: the one that was always failing and always guilty: was buried with Him. The person you are now is a new creation, inextricably linked to His life.
Through Christ speaks of your supply. Everything the Father gives you: mercy, strength, peace: comes to you through the Son. It doesn’t come through your efforts. Therefore, faith is not you bringing something impressive to God; it is you consenting to be relocated out of “me” and into “Him.”
The Exchanged Life: Trading Failure for Favor
The heart of the DNA of Grace is the “Great Exchange.” We often struggle to believe this because it seems too good to be true. We think we need to clean up our act before we can be acceptable. However, Grace tells us that Jesus took our act: every failure, every bit of “wasted pain,” and every secret shame: and gave us His standing in return.
2 Corinthians 5:21 “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
This is your new reality. When God looks at you, He doesn’t see your checklist of failures. He sees the perfect record of His Son. Austin Gardner is not a name associated with “perfect performance” in God’s ledger; it is a name hidden in Christ. This realization changes everything. It moves you from a place of striving to a place of resting.
As I’ve shared in The Big Leap of Faith: Believing God Loves You Exactly As You Are, the foundation of our walk is trust in His character, not our own. If you are in Christ, your standing is as secure as His standing. You have been relocated from the kingdom of “Try Harder” to the kingdom of “It Is Finished.”
Union with the Vine
One of the most beautiful pictures of this relocation is found in John 15. Jesus describes us as branches and Himself as the Vine. For years, I lived as if I were a branch trying to glue grapes onto my own bark. I wanted to look fruitful, but I was dying inside.
John 15:5 “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”
A branch doesn’t wake up in the morning and grit its teeth to produce a grape. It simply stays connected. The life of the vine flows naturally into the branch, and the fruit is the inevitable result. When I realized that I was already united to Him, the pressure left. Consequently, I stopped trying to produce the life and started participating in His life.
“God is not disappointed in you. He is not measuring your worth by your consistency.”
Living FROM Identity, Not FOR It
In our modern world, we are told that we have to define ourselves by what we achieve. This is a heavy burden. It leads to constant comparison and fear. But in the DNA of Grace, you are defined by who you belong to. You stop asking, “Who am I becoming?” and start asking, “Who am I in?”
Everything in this life flows from identity to behavior, never the other way around. Religion says, “Change, and then you will belong.” Grace says, “You belong, now you will change.” Specifically, we don’t live holy lives to get into Christ; we live holy lives because we are already in Him, and His Spirit is working in us to align our experience with our position.
If you feel like you are struggling today, if you feel like you are “behind” or not measuring up, take a deep breath. You are not being graded. You are being held. Mercy is not trailing behind you with conditions; it is running toward you with intention.
I want to invite you to dive deeper into this journey. If you are tired of the treadmill, if you are looking for true satisfaction in Jesus that doesn’t depend on your “good days,” then you need to understand how this relocation works.
Explore the DNA of Grace (Part 5) on the blog: https://waustingardner.com/dna-of-grace-part-5-how-you-get-in/
Common Questions About the DNA of Grace
How do I know if I have actually been “relocated” into Christ?
If you have turned to Jesus in simple faith, trusting His finished work rather than your own efforts, the Bible says you are in Him. It is a spiritual reality that rests on His promise, not on your fluctuating feelings or performance.
What happens to my identity when I fail or sin?
Your position in Christ is secured by His faithfulness, not your consistency. Just as your biological DNA doesn’t change on a bad day, your spiritual identity as a child of God is a permanent relocation based on the New Covenant.
Does “resting in grace” mean I stop trying to grow?
Actually, true growth only happens when you are at rest. When you stop striving to become something and start living from who you already are in Christ, the Holy Spirit produces fruit in your life naturally, just like a branch on a vine.
“Rest doesn’t come after you fix yourself. Rest comes first.”
Stay in the rest, friend. You are closer than you think, because He has already brought you home.
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