Dying daily to live forever! It may sound paradoxical that you have to die daily, if you want to live eternally. But that is exactly we have to do. The greatest war ever fought on this earth is the war against self. The yielding of self, and surrendering all to the will of God, requires a struggle. But only when the soul is submitted to God can it be renewed by the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “… unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.” (John 12:24). That means there should be a disintegration or death first, before much gain. Our first life we have to forego, before we can have the new life in Christ. This Jesus made clearer when He said, “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” (Matt. 16:25). If anybody tries to cling to his life, and tries to save it by himself, can never attain the eternal life promised in Christ. During baptism, the immersion in water represented our death to our old nature and rise again to a new life. It would have been most desirable if the old man of sin had permanently died when we were buried under baptismal waters. Sooner or later, however, all of us have discovered that our past habits and tendencies are still alive and do strive to regain control of our lives. After our baptism, our old nature has to be put to death again and again. This may be the reason why Jesus said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23). Therefore carrying a cross also means deny ourselves daily. Not just once in a while but every day; not just a part of us but whole of our being. The Christian life can be described as a cruciform life. As Paul acknowledged, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” (Gal. 2:20). In those Roman times the crucified victim did not die immediately. Usually, they agonized for many hours, sometimes several days, before death. Remember this, our crucified old nature, fights to survive and tries to get down from the cross. It is not easy to deny ourselves. Our old sinful nature lingers on; our old man of sin doesn’t want to die. Moreover, we cannot nail ourselves to the cross. No man can empty himself by own effort. We have to submit ourselves to Christ to get the work done. We have to pray to our Lord, “Lord, take my heart. It is Thy property. Keep it pure, for I cannot keep it for Thee. Save me in spite of myself, my weak self. Mold me, fashion me, and raise me into a pure and holy state, where the rich current of Thy love can flow through my soul.” Some think that this renunciation of self is to be made only at the beginning of the Christian life. That is not true. At every step our heavenward journey it is to be renewed. Only by constant renunciation of self and dependence on Christ can we walk safely in our earthly passage. We cannot retain part of our own self and be filled with the fullness of God. We must be emptied of self completely. If heaven is gained by us at last, it will be only through the renunciation of self and in receiving the mind, the spirit, and the will of Christ Jesus. When the Spirit of God takes possession of the heart, it transforms the life. Sinful thoughts are put away, evil deeds are renounced. Love, humility, and peace take the place of anger, envy, and strife. Joy takes the place of sadness, and the countenance reflects the light of heaven. Then that power which no human eye can see creates a new being in the image of God. Let us say like Paul “I die daily” (1Cor. 15:31), not just say, but make sure we die to ourselves, so that we will “Walk in the Spirit” and “not fulfill the lust of the flesh”. (Gal. 5:16). May God bless us! Please visit my page for more messages,like and share them https://facebook/SomeTruthsThatYouShouldNotMiss
Posted on: Wed, 06 Aug 2014 16:37:52 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015