Those who are Christ’s have crucified
the flesh with its passions and desires. —Galatians 5:24
The
natural life itself is not sinful. But we must abandon sin, having nothing to
do with it in any way whatsoever. Sin belongs to hell and to the devil. I, as a
child of God, belong to heaven and to God. It is not a question of giving up
sin, but of giving up my right to myself, my natural independence, and my
self-will. This is where the battle has to be fought. The things that are
right, noble, and good from the natural standpoint are the very things that
keep us from being God’s best. Once we come to understand that natural moral
excellence opposes or counteracts surrender to God, we bring our soul into the
center of its greatest battle. Very few of us would debate over what is filthy,
evil, and wrong, but we do debate over what is good. It is the good that
opposes the best. The higher up the scale of moral excellence a person goes,
the more intense the opposition to Jesus Christ. “Those who are Christ’s have
crucified the flesh….” The cost to your natural life is not just one or two
things, but everything. Jesus said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let
him deny himself…” (Matthew 16:24). That is, he must deny his right to
himself, and he must realize who Jesus Christ is before he will bring himself
to do it. Beware of refusing to go to the funeral of your own independence.
The
natural life is not spiritual, and it can be made spiritual only through
sacrifice. If we do not purposely sacrifice the natural, the supernatural can
never become natural to us. There is no high or easy road. Each of us has the
means to accomplish it entirely in his own hands. It is not a question of
praying, but of sacrificing, and thereby performing His will.
No comments:
Post a Comment