03/08/2023
During my time of devotion today I read Oswald Chambers. He wrote of giving ourselves to Jesus Christ and what that means. It is a surrender of not just our bodies, but our sinful lives and all we are. As I contemplated the relief that comes from this conversion, I also thought of the pain that the process brings, because as the new person is born, the old must die. The apostle Paul understood what yielding ourselves truly meant. In his letter to the Galatians he spoke of being crucified, of Jesus living in him, and of who he became after his acceptance of Jesus Christ as the Son of God.
“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 loved me, and gave himself for me.”
Galatians 2:20 KJV
But Paul (who was then Saul) was knocked down and blinded before he could see. He had to go through the process of abandoning the old man before the new one could rise up and see the truth which is Jesus Christ. We are just the same, and in the process of conversion and transformation we too must suffer both the pangs of birth, and the pain of death. Oswald Chambers wrote these words as he attempted to describe what Paul had experienced those many years ago...
"No one is ever united with Jesus Christ until he is willing to relinquish not sin only, but his whole way of looking at things. To be born from above of the spirit of God means that we must let go before we lay hold, and in the first stages it is the relinquishing of all presence." - Oswald Chambers
Birth is always uncomfortable; whether it be physical childbirth, the birth of a new nation, or our birth of faith in Jesus Christ. But coming to know Christ is more than the labor of childbirth, it also means that we must die to our old selves. Some of us suffer through the changes that letting go of our old life brings, but there are those of us whose grip is just too tight, and they cannot put the knife to their old lives. This is not a new problem and is sadly recorded in scripture. Not only must we see who we will become in Jesus, but we must be willing to see the writhing death of that person who we have been in the world.
“Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.”
Luke 18:22-23 KJV
The wealthy man could not give up that which was most important to him; his wealth. So, he walked away from Jesus and lost his opportunity to experience eternal life. His money and power were his gods.
We all have something we value above all else. We all have those things that we idolize and that sit at the pinnacle of our lives. The question becomes this... are we willing to supplant them with Jesus Christ? There is a tendency for us to accept the Lord and then attempt to find some lesser place in our lives to squeeze Him in. We say he is first, but we keep living with our old god sitting at the summit of our life. If we do this then we never really go through the true suffering that being born again demands. Are we willing to go through the physical and spiritual pain of Christian rebirth? Are we willing to destroy the old person we were and change our lives completely as we yield to Him at all cost?
Each of us who have accepted Jesus as our Lord has a story to tell... a testimony regarding our being knocked down, blinded, and then lifted up to the sight of Christ. I dare say that there are many who believe they see, but in truth are still in the grips of blindness. Jesus may be very high on their mountain, but He doesn't stand at the summit of their life yet. For some of us this can be a daily struggle, but for others it is a mountain too high.
Even when we relinquish all we are for Jesus, and truly place Him first in our lives, the battle still continues. Satan always comes forward with a temptation that he knows will challenge Jesus for the pinnacle of our life. We are not alone in this temptation, Jesus was tempted as well...
“And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.”
Luke 4:9-13 KJV
There are a couple of things about this temptation that I want to point out... the first is that although there was a physical summit of the temple, it was also a spiritual one... Satan was asking Jesus to relinquish his place at the very peak of faith... as the Christ. The second thing we need to realize is that Satan didn't leave forever, but rather "he departed from him for a season."
Satan is always looking to dethrone Jesus in our lives, and even when we resist him and drive him away today... he only leaves for a season. So, just as this was the case in the life of Jesus, and was true for Paul, it is just as true for us as well... faith and the placement of Christ at the pinnacle of our lives is always being contested. The need to defend our decision to make Christ the focus of our lives, and to place Him at the peak of them, is being challenged time and again.
Thus, strong men and women can fall, and their eyes become blinded once more. We mustn't become complacent and should always be aware of the danger that becoming too comfortable in our faith can bring. There is always the danger that while we sleep the enemy will steal into our camp, and when we wake we will find his flag flying above our tent. He is subtle, but the consequences are great. Stay in the Word, pray without ceasing, and constantly be vigilant so that Jesus Christ remains our most precious possession... being forever the first and highest in our lives.
Prayer:
Father, come to me on the road, and knock me down as Jesus did Saul, but even then, lift me up again and allow me to see Jesus as my Lord. Give me the strength to forsake all else for Him. Let my faith be sufficient so that I can clear away all those things that have been gods in my life and see only your Son Jesus and you. Lead me Lord, all the days of my life. Stand watch as I sleep and guard me from all temptation... deliver me from evil. When Satan comes like a thief in the night awaken me to his presence, and stand with me against him. Father, let nothing come between us, and let Jesus be more precious to me than gold. Though there is much of beauty surrounding me, let His visage and glory be all I see. Holy Father, let me forever be diligent in my faith and never become lax. Give me your Word to use as my sword, and teach me to use it as Jesus did to resist all temptation and to repel the advance of evil. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God who strengthens me as I am being reborn in the image of Jesus, and who defends me against all that would bring irreparable harm to me.
Rich Forbes