Those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires —Galatians 5:24
We seem to easily recognize that as followers of Christ we need to abandon sin. The more difficult truth is that it is not just 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.
It is easy to share God at a prison. The inmates know they have sinned. They are reminded of it every day. It is much more difficult to share with “good” people. They like to grade on the curve. They believe they are better than a lot of other folks. The same is true of us who follow Him. We believe there are naturally good things we do but these 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.
Nick
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