As I have prayed over the summer I have been increasingly convinced that we need to understand more than ever what Christ did for us on the Cross. Have we walked through the door of Christianity and not the door of Christ? Can we really have Christ without the Cross? The Cross is where Christ laid down His life on our behalf. He paid the penalty for our sin. He took upon Himself all of the wrath of God that we deserved and then suffered an eternity in our place.
We ask Jesus into our heart...we accept Him...we say that we believe the gospel and know that Jesus died for us...we say that we know that our salvation is sure. Have we stopped to think what we are saying? Have we counted the cost and added up the sum total of the price that He paid? What are we doing? We need to cry out to God for His mercy. We need to ask Him to give us eyes to see our sin as He sees our sin. We need to see what He has done on our behalf. Oh Lord forgive us for taking what He has done on our behalf for granted. Help us see and understand the high price You paid. O Lord Jesus have mercy. Please have mercy. Grant us grace to see what you have done and live accordingly.
If God would grant us His mercy and grace to help us really think through what He had done for us...we wouldn't be so casual about our Christianity. We would WANT to die so that He might LIVE within us fully. And we would want to live accordingly...not because of anything in ourselves but because of the grace of God. NOT I BUT CHRIST.
Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Romans 12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
What a refreshing challenge! Galatians 2:20 has been ringing in my ears ever since my first short term mission trip to Jamaica in 1996. But apart from such a dramatic experience, I don't "feel" that verse applied in my life often enough. I say, "Christ lives in me" and "I want others to see Christ in me" but I don't always jump at the chance to be "crucified with Him" in order for that to happen. I look forward with eager anticipation to the opportunities the Lord puts in my path as I pray and ask Him throughout this semester - even knowing that will mean death to self in order that Jesus is all that is seen.
ReplyDelete