God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus
Christ . . . —Galatians 6:14
The
gospel of Jesus Christ always forces a decision of our will. Have I accepted
God’s verdict on sin as judged on the Cross of Christ? Do I have even the
slightest interest in the death of Jesus? Do I want to be identified with His
death— to be completely dead to all interest in sin, worldliness, and self? Do
I long to be so closely identified with Jesus that I am of no value for
anything except Him and His purposes? The great privilege of discipleship is
that I can commit myself under the banner of His Cross, and that means death to
sin. You must get alone with Jesus and either decide
to tell Him that you do not want sin to die out in you, or that at any cost you
want to be identified with His death. When you act in confident faith in what
our Lord did on the cross, a supernatural identification with His death takes
place immediately. And you will come to know through a higher knowledge that
your old life was “crucified with Him” (Romans 6:6).
The proof that your old life is dead, having been “crucified with Christ” (Galatians
2:20), is the amazing ease with which the life of God in you now
enables you to obey the voice of Jesus Christ.
Every
once in a while our Lord gives us a glimpse of what we would be like if it were
not for Him. This is a confirmation of what He said— “. . . without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
That is why the underlying foundation of Christianity is personal, passionate
devotion to the Lord Jesus. We mistake the joy of our first introduction into
God’s kingdom as His purpose for getting us there. Yet God’s purpose in getting
us into His kingdom is that we may realize all that identification with Jesus
Christ means.
(Taken from Oswald Chambers – “My Utmost
for His Highest” December 23)