Christ died once, but we should die daily
Greetings in the name of Jesus:
In all truth I cannot believe that we really understand the concept of what God means by our daily sacrifice of our life to the cause of Christ. We hear various quotes from Scripture like his found in Philippians 1:21 "for me to live is Christ, and to die is gain"which was Paul's words as he wrote to Timothy while he was in Philippi. The one thing that we don't seem to understand is our constant need to re-set our priorities, and re-assess the things that we need to do in order to keep our lives clear of the sins that we know we are subject to committing. Paul himself had to learn by trial and error exactly how to go about doing that over his lifetime, and if anybody had been honest grasp of what it meant to be a living sacrifice on a daily basis I believe it was Paul.
For those of us living today the clear view of how to live in such a way that we can be true living sacrifices which are holy and acceptable in God's eyes is constantly being made unclear. This is because the sin of this world is getting stronger every day. Paul made a statement as well in chapter 1 of Philippians that I will paraphrase when he said: if I live this life in the physical sense I have a limited amount of success in my labor, he said I want to be able to live both in the spirit and in the flesh. I am torn between the two, because I would rather be with God in heaven than to live here, but it is better for you that I am here right now. I can honestly say now that for the last few years of my life I have felt much that same way. In order for us to be able to truly live for Christ we must have this kind of confidence in the life we have chosen in Jesus Christ but we must choose to live this life in Christ together in order for us to be strong enough to live on a daily basis as the spiritual sacrifice that Christ talks about. What I refer to is found in Romans 12:1-2 where it says"I beseech you therefore, brother, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world. But be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."
So often we equate sacrifice was suffering, and I guess in many ways that is true when we realize the sacrifice that Jesus made for us. In many ways when Christ calls a man it is said "he bids him calm and die". But that death is not always a physical death, but a spiritual death to the influences that would control our lives and our decisions. In particular it deals with our control over desires and wants in life; not necessarily needs, although sometimes those are involved as well but Christ calls us first and foremost to die to sin and to ourselves. Sometimes it may mean leaving our home, selling everything we own, turning the other cheek, not storing up earthly treasures, loving your enemies, taking up your cross and following Christ. None of Christ commands called believers to a life of comfort. All require patients, suffering, and sacrifice. For me anyone who balks against a deeper and more meaningful walk with Christ is someone who still needs to find a way within themselves to be a living sacrifice. It is a life time process to develop this kind of lifestyle or the desire to live with God more so than to live with men. We have to get over our fear of death, and our definitions of what that means before we can actually live our life to its fullest. May you richly bless God through your life in him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
In all truth I cannot believe that we really understand the concept of what God means by our daily sacrifice of our life to the cause of Christ. We hear various quotes from Scripture like his found in Philippians 1:21 "for me to live is Christ, and to die is gain"which was Paul's words as he wrote to Timothy while he was in Philippi. The one thing that we don't seem to understand is our constant need to re-set our priorities, and re-assess the things that we need to do in order to keep our lives clear of the sins that we know we are subject to committing. Paul himself had to learn by trial and error exactly how to go about doing that over his lifetime, and if anybody had been honest grasp of what it meant to be a living sacrifice on a daily basis I believe it was Paul.
For those of us living today the clear view of how to live in such a way that we can be true living sacrifices which are holy and acceptable in God's eyes is constantly being made unclear. This is because the sin of this world is getting stronger every day. Paul made a statement as well in chapter 1 of Philippians that I will paraphrase when he said: if I live this life in the physical sense I have a limited amount of success in my labor, he said I want to be able to live both in the spirit and in the flesh. I am torn between the two, because I would rather be with God in heaven than to live here, but it is better for you that I am here right now. I can honestly say now that for the last few years of my life I have felt much that same way. In order for us to be able to truly live for Christ we must have this kind of confidence in the life we have chosen in Jesus Christ but we must choose to live this life in Christ together in order for us to be strong enough to live on a daily basis as the spiritual sacrifice that Christ talks about. What I refer to is found in Romans 12:1-2 where it says"I beseech you therefore, brother, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world. But be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."
So often we equate sacrifice was suffering, and I guess in many ways that is true when we realize the sacrifice that Jesus made for us. In many ways when Christ calls a man it is said "he bids him calm and die". But that death is not always a physical death, but a spiritual death to the influences that would control our lives and our decisions. In particular it deals with our control over desires and wants in life; not necessarily needs, although sometimes those are involved as well but Christ calls us first and foremost to die to sin and to ourselves. Sometimes it may mean leaving our home, selling everything we own, turning the other cheek, not storing up earthly treasures, loving your enemies, taking up your cross and following Christ. None of Christ commands called believers to a life of comfort. All require patients, suffering, and sacrifice. For me anyone who balks against a deeper and more meaningful walk with Christ is someone who still needs to find a way within themselves to be a living sacrifice. It is a life time process to develop this kind of lifestyle or the desire to live with God more so than to live with men. We have to get over our fear of death, and our definitions of what that means before we can actually live our life to its fullest. May you richly bless God through your life in him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
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