http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+6:11&version=NASB
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Galatians%202:20&version=NIV1984
Approximately 25 years ago I developed a personal prayer that I say every day. I ask God to help my eyes to look only at what is good; my ears to listen to His voice; to guard my tongue; to help my hands do His will; for my feet to walk in His path; to have the mind of Christ; and to love God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. I also have a Bible verse that I say every day as well. It is found in Galatians 2:20. I first became familiar with it as a teenager when I memorized it as part of some Navigator’s Discipleship material. The verse goes like this - “I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live. Yet not I, but Christ lives in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself or me.” I became reacquainted with this verse about 2 years and have said it every day since.
I like the verse because it helps me to understand spiritual reality. That reality is that when I came to Jesus, I died. The ‘old man’ or ‘flesh’, as Scripture sometimes likes to call it, was crucified on the cross. This meant that my goals, dreams and plans for the future were surrendered to Jesus. I died. At least in theory. In my place, Christ now lives in me. Pretty heady stuff if you ask me. Jesus has taken over my body through the Holy Spirit. Now it is His goals, dreams and plans for the future. Of course, as the verse says, this happens by faith. I surrender myself to Jesus and now He is living through me.What this means, on a theoretical level, is that I am dead to everything around me. I don’t get a big head when I receive praise because I am dead. It has no effect on me. I don’t worry when people say bad things about me because I am dead. It has no effect on me. I don’t get upset when I am slighted or when others get the recognition that I deserve because I am dead. It has no effect on me. The same is true about such things as envy, jealousy, persecution, etc. They have no effect on me because I am dead. The fact is that you can do all kinds of things to a corpse. But it won’t have even the slightest affect on it.
The problem is that on a practical level, I keep coming back to life. When I do, then I find that such things as praise or lack of it, slights, lies, hurtful comments, and the like bother me. They get under my skin. And cause me distress, worry and discontentment. The solution? What the Apostle Paul said in I Corinthians 15:31. (The resurrection chapter, ironically.) “I die daily.” I have to get back up on the cross and die to self. It’s hard to do. And there are times when I want to do anything but. This is why I say Galatians 2:20 every morning. It reminds me of the need to be crucified. And that Jesus is now in control of my life. Unfortunately, Jesus only had to die once. I find that I have to die a thousand deaths. Death to self is hard. And everything in my being resists it.
But Galatians 2:20 is far from a negative verse. It also has a positive side as well. For when I am dead to self it means that I am alive to Christ. Instead of being affected by all of the negative things in life, I am now affected by all of the positive things in life. I am open to the Holy Spirit’s voice. I see the good in situations. What God is doing. I don’t complain as much. I am thankful for what I have. I hear Jesus whispering words of comfort and assurance to me. I hear His words of strength and guidance.
As I mentioned, I don’t live out the reality of this verse perfectly. But it reminds me of where I need to be. Dead to self. Alive to Christ. It’s the way to spiritual power and vitality. For me. And for you.
Lord, I thank you for Your Word. And the power that it has to transform my life. I thank you for my special verse that I say every day. It reminds me of my true spiritual condition. That I have died to self. To the world. To any and all things that would affect me in a negative way. That I am alive to You. And Your Spirit’s work in my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment