Is The Cross Burden Or Death?

The Apostle Paul tells us in Galatians 2, "I am crucified with Christ therefore I no longer live, Jesus Christ now lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself up for me." Non-Christians, and unfortunately not a small number of actual believers, fail to understand the meaning of these verses. The point of Paul's thought is simply this, "You cannot be a Christian, nor live the life of a Christian, until you first die to all you are so Christ can live His life through you!"

Are you "trying" to be a Christian? Are you "trying" to live the Christian life? If the answer is "yes" you have yet to understand what it means to be be a Christian. It is not about striving, trying or vying. (Isn't that ingenious wordplay!) You become a Christian and actually live the Christian life by dying!

The crucified man is a dead man. The Cross is an instrument of death. When Jesus said, "take up your cross and follow Me," He was not extending an invitation to come and live a good moral life, always striving to do right and abstain from what is wrong! He was extending an invitation to die and be raised to eternal life. "Eternal life" in this case being a life which participates in the life of God. After all, who is eternal other than God? In order to participate in eternal life one must participate in the life of God! We do this by ceasing our own vain efforts in the flesh and embracing a life of faith in Christ.

The life of the believer is empowered, influenced and guided by the Holy Spirit of God. We obey God because His choice is revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. We obey God because are convicted to do so by the Holy Spirit. We obey God because we are empowered to do so by the Holy Spirit. Ours is a life of faith (belief plus trust) in God through Jesus Christ. We participate in the life of God through our faith in Him. We believe and trust God's Holy Spirit at work within us.

Are you striving or dying today? It is only when we cease to strive, die to our effort and embrace life in Christ through faith that we become true (and successful) followers of Christ!

James