Word for Wednesday
I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, Who lived, and gave Himself for me. Galatians 2:20
A man who heard the Gospel clearly preached was convicted of his sin and need. However, as he considered the message, he held back fearfully. When one of the preachers asked him why he could not accept the message, he declared that he could never measure up to the life of a Christian. ‘I could never live like that, I could never be good enough, or be able to stay away from sin,’ he declared. The apostle Paul would have agreed with that man. Paul could not live the life of a Christian either, and neither can your or I. Not on our own strength, and not as we were before we were saved. The truth is that our Christian life is not lived in our own strength at all.
Paul speaks about being crucified. Crucifixion is a one-way trip. Nobody comes back from it, or nobody did until the Lord Jesus rose in glorious triumph. But when He rose, He did not look the same as He did before. The marks of the crucifixion were indelibly stamped on Him and will be so throughout eternity. We who are saved have also been marked, not necessarily in a physical way that would appear shocking to those we encounter. The life that we are now living, as redeemed saints, is not the same life we lived in our unsaved days. Our unregenerate years were wasted on sin, and bore the marks of our father the devil. Our old man was branded with the unfruitful works of unrighteousness. But our Salvation brought the old man to the cross. We have been changed. Forever. And that change should be obvious to anyone who spends any time with us.
If we are crucified with Christ, our goals and ambitions will conform to His, our attitudes about sin and the world will line up with His, our companions will be His people, our occupation will be His Word, and our desires will be His will. The extent to which our lives are lived for God is the extent to which we allow the Christ Who lives in us to be our Lord.
Although our text is true of all Christians, it is not apparent of all Christians. Let us seek to live a crucified life, the only life worthwhile. -Jim MacIntosh