You are not your own ~ As Christians, we can get really off track in our walk with God when we start thinking in terms of me instead of in turns of Him , the sovereign Lord. We fallaciously conclude that its my life, its my ministry, those are my talents, and that’s my money to spend the way that I want to. Instead of sharing in the sufferings of Christ Jesus or humbling ourselves in obedience, the bottom line often becomes this: What’s in it for me? But since when is this life on earth only about me and fulfilling my needs and desires? Instead of asking, “What can I do for You, Lord?” we prefer, “What is God going to do for me ? How is God going to bless me ?” Instead of humbling ourselves and saying, “Lord, What must I do to be saved? What must I change to stand in Your holy presence?” we want God to endorse our private lives and sign that blank check while we go off and spend heavenly funds the way we see fit. We are not free agents to do as we please, disregarding what our Master wants from us. We must pay a personal price, too. If we are to be like Christ, then death is a part of the equation. I don’t mean physically, necessarily – though there have been martyrs for the cause of Christ and will be more in the future. But I am really talking spiritually. I mean the kind of death that lays an ax to the root of our bad habits, our selfishness, and our unholy thoughts and actions; the kind of death that kills what is evil and allows for the refinement of what is good out of the ashes. Death must come in order that our new life in Christ can reign. Romans 6:4 tells us, “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” We are dead to our own ways, but alive in Christ. Just as a seed must enter the earth and die before it can become a thriving plant above ground, we also must die to our old selves before we can blossom in the newness of Christ.
Posted on: Mon, 01 Sep 2014 05:40:02 +0000
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