04/21/2021
When we think of being crucified with Jesus, just where do we envision ourselves in that process? Are we entering Jerusalem, praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, being taken before the high priest, standing before Pilot, receiving a beating at the hands of the guards, being scourged and cut by the whip, stumbling under the weight of the cross as we walk the Via Dolorosa, crying out in pain as the nails are driven through us, hanging above the crowd as our life ebbs away, or have we taken our last breath, are we laying in the tomb, being resurrected, speaking once again to our disciples, or ascending into heaven? What does being crucified with Christ mean to us?
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life 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 ESV
Every Christian determines how they will sees themselves when they read this verse that Paul wrote to the Galatian church. What comes to mind as you read it has a lot to do with where you are in faith? Are you dead to the world, or somewhere between the celebration at the gates of Jerusalem, and Calvary?
“Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
Matthew 16:24 ESV
Perhaps you are suffering the ridicule, and hanging on the cross? If so are you feeling your life seep away, or are you just now taking your final breath?
“For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
Matthew 16:25 ESV
How we view these scriptures, and what they mean to us personally depends a great deal on where we are in our faith, and how far along we are in separating ourselves from the world... it is determined by how complete our transformation is as we are becoming a new person in Christ. While I was reading the words of Andrew Murray this morning I was struck by this epiphany. Listen to what he writes...
“By faith, the believer shares in the power and blessing of the crucified Christ. The measure in which the believer claims the truth for himself is how much he dies to the world” - Andrew Murray
Have you ever considered the degrees of your own transformation, and how you are becoming more like Christ as you proceed from the waving palm branches at the gates of Jerusalem, through the stations of the cross, and on to sit on the throne with Jesus.
“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”
2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV
“The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.”
Revelation 3:21 ESV
Our journey, and transformation into new creatures might start at the gates of Jerusalem, and become real as we are hated as He was, but it really begins in earnest when we pick up our cross as Jesus instructed us to, and begin following Him towards heaven where we will join Him on His throne.
So consider your personal journey today, and determine where you are in it. Ask yourself what you see when you answer the question “Am I crucified with Christ?” Then, take heart, and find strength in knowing that becoming transformed is not an event, but a journey, and you are still traveling along the road as you follow Jesus.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for your love, and Son Jesus through whom we begin our journey of faith that leads us before you. Thank you for the each cross that has been prepared especially for us, and waits for each of us to pick it up. Thank you for our crucifixion that takes away the life of the old man, and transforms it into a new creation in Christ. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who watches over our every step towards righteousness, and has sent angels, and your Holy Spirit to travel with us. Praised be your name for every hardship we overcome along the way, and the lessons that each one teaches us as we grow in faith. You are merciful Father, and provide for us as we travel. You are mighty, and defend us against all harm and danger. Your grace is sufficient for us as it pours forth from Jesus, and makes it possible for us to be worthy before you... washed clean, and made pure by His blood. Lift us up on that day when we stand completed before you, and seat us at your table for eternity with you.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.”
2 Corinthians 5:17-19 ESV
Rich Forbes