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Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body[a] and in your spirit, which are God's. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. Romans 12:1 For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. Romans 14:7-8 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, 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 for me. Galatians 2:20 Ok folks, this is a tough one. I really don’t have any idea where this is going, or what the Lord wants to say, but here goes... My friends and brethren, the Christian life is very much the “exchanged” life. Whether we comprehend it completely or not, we have voluntarily forfeited our right to exist that He, the Lord Jesus Christ, might live in us. By accepting the immense and eternal benefit of the cross we have also affirmed the obligation to lay down our lives for Him and His brethren. If we have duly submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, then we no longer hold any right to govern our lives as we choose. [Maybe allow that to settle in your spirit a little bit before reading further.] Christianity is very much about laying one thing down in order to take up something else. Recall how Jesus lovingly invited us to take up His yoke, which was easy and light, in exchange for a heavy burden which is impossible to bear. By giving His all for Adam's fallen offspring, we can now surrender all of Adam’s sin-wrought burden to Him. Meaty theology for sure, but what practical impact would this newfound reality have on us once we really got hold of it at the spirit level? What difference would it make in our lives? In our testimony? In our homes, jobs, activities, conversations, thoughts and motives? In order for us to be filled with Him, with inherent newness of life, we must first be emptied; emptied of self, the world and the flesh, pride, stubborn self-will - in short anything that is less than He, and all that He represents. This is powerful stuff my brethren. Despite what many will tell you, Christianity has absolutely nothing to do with improving the human life (which is nothing short of humanism), and everything to do with the appropriation of a new and heavenly life. Just as our Lord willingly and graciously laid His life down for the Father, we must surely lay down ours for Him. And just as He put off his grave clothes and walked out of that festering tomb, alive in all the fullness of the Spirit Life, so must we. And this new and better life, lived above and apart from the desperate tumult of the carnal world, is lived in Him and through Him and for Him, only that it might magnify Him. Our life - as the truth of Scripture confirms - now fully belongs to Him. He purchased it at a tremendous price, with His very blood. Not that we would become mere chattels or slaves, but redeemed children in the heavenly Household of God. Only here can we once and forever realize our truest potential - as defined by the Maker – to enjoy God and His Family long into eternity. Yet, as we all know, getting there is the tricky part isn’t it? It is so much easier to slaughter and sacrifice some dumb beast on a physical alter at a single point in time, than to lay down our lives in constant and living sacrifice. It is in the giving up – the emptying – this reduction - that we stumble and fail, and are prevented from apprehending all the blessings and wonders the Lord extends to us. What is it today that we are still holding back from Him, my brethren? What aspect of our lives are we still stubbornly clinging to as “our own”, or off limits and untouchable? Each of us will have a different response to this question, but the result is the same. Our Lord can never be satisfied with only fragments of our lives, or an incomplete sacrifice. In order to restore and bless us fully, we must surrender fully all things to Him who loves us and promises us so much in His Son. The exchange must be complete, all for all, without exception. I have spent today considering over and over again that “my life is not my own”, “my life is not my own”. And yet, on the surface it appears that it still very much belongs to me; that I am still very much the lord of my life and king of my castle. Oh, if only I would release it all to him, right here and now. What is it then that holds us back – that prevents us from living completely in and through and for Him? Perhaps the answer is found in the verse above, where Paul writes that “the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” It is by faith you see, that we are able to apprehend His life, and by love that we in turn lay ours down. We must trust Him completely in order to surrender to Him completely, and our love for Him must be unrivalled and uncompromising. Once again, it all seems to come down to this thing called love, and all that makes it real – trust, hope, gentleness, meekness, humility, and honesty. Why is this so hard for us my brethren, when Jesus assured us that His yoke was so easy and light? What is so wrong with us that we just can’t seem to let go of ourselves and our precious little control? It still gives us something doesn’t it? It still meets some raw need in us? Perhaps what we have to realize is that all of the needs inside us, if indeed the Creator placed them there, can be met only by Him, not any created thing existing in the world, ourselves or other people. So where does this bring us my friends? If this is true, then what does it mean? What are the implications? It all sounds pretty serious doesn't it? Last Chance to Turn Back Just last week I was at an amusement park with my family. On one of the scary rides, there were a series of exits that you could take if you really didn’t want to go through with it. “Last Chance to Turn Back” was the message on the final sign. As the pressing reality of the Christian life draws us ever deeper into God’s presence, it will increasingly demand more of us in the way of trust, commitment, courage and love. As our Lord strips us down to bare facts, and we are asked to surrender the many things we hold dear – our precious time and money, our status in the world, our blind devotion to things and pleasure, our relentless fears, and the many sordid idols that keep us rooted in this life – what we will discover is that all that we have left is Him. He is the only One standing there in the place where we once stood. This is what we signed on for my brethren. I am sorry if something less than this or something easier than this was promised you by another. This is the real deal, and must surely cause each of us to consider whether we truly want to advance further into His life or retreat back into our own. Yet how can we turn back now after having tasted of the Glorious Life? We must advance, and grow, for this is why we exist now. He is all we have? Once begun, is there really any turning back for the surrendered child of God? We must never be afraid, my friends, at the prospect of losing it all. We must never listen to all the voices that keep trying to convince us that it just doesn’t make any sense; that we have to protect ourselves, and hold tightly to all the many aspects of our lives that have shaped and manipulated us since birth. And don’t be troubled when that old familiar self starts to change before your eyes - when a new and strange consciousness begins to inhabit your heart and mind. Just trust Him my friends, and believe with all that He gives you that He loves you, and will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not think for one second that He doesn’t know or appreciate how hard this is for you. Certainly He does, and this is why throughout all the Scripture we find His loving promise that He will uphold us – that He will carry us onward to victory and peace – that in the end we will receive such great and precious promises. The price is very high indeed. Yet the reward – the inheritance of the saints - is priceless! Whew… I think I will stop here and try to digest this myself. May our Lord bless all of you as you release yourselves to His loving care, and His life gradually starts to assimilate your life. May each day bring more of Him and less of us, that the world may see Him and know Him as we do, and glorify His Most Holy Name. Please pray for us here at Living-Walk, that we would watch and see the Master at work, and understand what He would have us do. Your friend in Christ Jesus,
Wayne |
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