The Key to Success

“I have been crucified with Christ; and 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 up for me.” - Galatians 2:20

Have I died today? Have you died today?

The writer of Galatians says that they have been crucified with Christ and they no longer live, but now the risen Lord lives in them and through them. Following Jesus begins by being crucified with him. We have to die to our old ways, old habits, old desires, old behaviors and ways of living. Jesus said that anyone who wishes to save there lives will lose it. If we want to be saved by Christ we must begin by dying with him.

This is the hardest part. It is easy to ask for forgiveness. It is hard to let go of the pain. It is easy to say "I believe." It is hard to love our enemies. It is easy to spend an hour a week in the church building. It is hard to be the church. It is easy to talk about what it means to be a Christian and what Christians ought to do. It is hard to live as a follower of Jesus. It is hard because to move from the easy to the hard we must be crucified with Christ and we must give up our lives to him. For us to be transformed by Jesus so that the life we now live in the flesh we live by faith in the Son who lives in us.

The key to success is to every day die to self. The key to success is to allow Christ to live in us and through us. Apart from Christ we can do nothing but in Christ we can do all things.

Each morning we have the opportunity to live for ourselves or to let the risen Christ live in us and through us. Each morning we have the opportunity to say i am living for Jesus today and not for myself. Each morning we can choose the easy way that leads to spiritual and physical death for all eternity or we can choose the hard work of being crucified with Christ so that we can live in him and through him for all eternity.

Love today.

In Christ's love and mine,

Doug