"He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him."
~ Luke 20:38 (NKJV)
"In Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also His offspring.' "
~ Acts 17:28 (NKJV)
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
~ Galatians 2:20 (NKJV)
I wonder some days if I should take death more seriously, if only for the sake of others.
My problem (if it's a problem) is I take to heart the words that I no longer live. Self tries to rise up a thousand times a day, but Self no longer lives. In autumn 1988 I came alive to Christ. He now lives in me. I see death as the natural means by which we fully enter the kingdom into which we've been born again.
I've given birth five times, three times at home. (Once was by accident, and it was no big deal after that.) Something about giving birth in the comfortable environment of home with a nice fire going makes it seem completely natural for a baby to transition into arms from womb's confinement. Death is likewise the natural point at which we're no longer confined by earth and reach the arms of God.
Everyone who is in Christ is already living eternal life. In Him we died. In Him we live. Death can no longer touch us.
Lord Jesus, You are the resurrection and the life. You increasingly fill us with Your life and we love You for it. Please fill us with Your Spirit ever more fully while we walk the earth, so that we will do what You did when You were here. Please let all of us see death with the perspective You desire us to have.
Feedback invited. Post to BuildingHisBody.com "Comments" or e-mail to BuildingHisBody@gmail.com. Copyright 2009, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
Agree but I wish to walk in my coat of flesh a little longer, God willing! ;)
ReplyDeleteOK The Holy Spirit brought me back. Perhaps the surgery will be a good way for me to enrich my life with Christ. Perhaps even more deeply and truly die to self, perhaps then all the answers i've been seeking will be revealed.
ReplyDeleteT. Anne, I live in a constant tension of longing to meet my divine Lover face to face, being solidly engaged with everyone in this world, and wanting to live a long and fruitful life to lay up all the treasure in heaven I'll one day lay at the feet of my King.
ReplyDeleteIf you're interested, Seek First His Kingdom also had a recent post about this tension.
Hi Anne,
ReplyDeleteI like coming here in the mornings. I thought it was beautiful how you wrote you wanted to be "solidly engaged" with those on earth...what a great way to word that.
Here's a question/thing I ponder--self. If it is dead, why does it rise up in us so often. I've been thinking a lot about how you divided the heart in 4 (you have a teaching gift for sure) on my blog and just wanted to throw that one out there. Is it b/c of free will?
~ Wendy
Awesome post my friend.
ReplyDeleteWendy, you've asked a huge question far more gifted Christians write entire books to explain. I'll tackle it as adequately as I understand it, as briefly as possible.
ReplyDeleteTrue story from a friend. He heard a bird squawking and discovered its foot had become entangled in some string caught in a branch. When he tried to assist the bird it pecked him in fear. He did finally manage to cut the string free from the bird's foot. But the bird had been trapped for such a long time that it had quit struggling to fly away and just sat there squawking. He had to chase it out of the bush before it knew it was free and chose to fly.
Romans 6:6 says, "Our old man was crucified with [Christ], that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin."
Once we agree to be purchased by Christ through His blood, we are no longer in bondage of sin. The chains of sin have been cut. We are spiritually set free from sin (God declares us righteous) and legally set free from an eternal death penalty.
But we may not immediately fly away. The habit of sin (the strongholds which specific sins built up in our lives) will continue to induce us to sin. That's the old man—Self—speaking. We'll also be vulnerable to the voice of the world, especially in those same areas. And the devil knows well the weak places in every person, and he's more than happy to also chime in with temptation.
The voice of the Holy Spirit also speaks to our hearts. He is the actual presence of the Lord living in our hearts. But He does not force Himself upon us, so we retain the free will to sin.
Acts 3:19 says, "Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord."
If our salvation is genuine, we repent of sin. If we choose to do things like read the Bible we will be conformed to the Word rather than world. If we choose to be a living sacrifice and say "NO!" to Self the Spirit fills us more fully. If we make prayer a habit, we not only get used to the voice of the Spirit and know which way to turn, but we also receive the power to turn away from voices of Self, world, and devil.
That's at least a partial explanation behind Romans 11:33-12:2, which I posted as a comment to your blog the other day.
Romans is an incredible book for explaining our salvation. It was the book which spoke to Martin Luther and exploded the Protestant reformation. An entire library couldn't exhaust the messages in that single book, let alone the whole Bible. When I post here daily, it's on just a single passage or verse, and I plan to be blathering on as long as the Lord allows me.
You blather well!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I came back to read that. I've been a Christian for almost 20 years, but find I'm still learning so much.
The bird analogy was powerful. It will be something I'll remember (especially since we've had a bird flapping into our window for 4 days now).
Romans is one of my favorite books (maybe we shouldn't have favorite books of the Bible.) Oh well, I am also drawn to the Psalms.
I liked the list of things you provided that demonstrate fruit in our lives...prayer, reading the Bible, and repentance of sin.
I'm grateful for your taking the time to explain that! I'm not sure you realize how much God is using you in my life!
~ Wendy
Wendy, God's infinite goodness means there will always be far more to learn that we'll even begin to touch, no matter how long we walk with him.
ReplyDeleteI think of favorite books of the Bible like my favorite kids. I have my favorite violinist, my favorite ballet dancer, etc. And I have my favorite praise book, my favorite theological treatise, etc.