Dying to Self

UV 1428/10,000 Dying to Self, Living for Christ
And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
Galatians 5 v 24

The cross is a symbol of negation of the negative. The negation of the negative comes from above or the divine. Crucifixion as a metaphor implies that we are enabled by divine grace to put to death or negate the negatives in our lives. The mark of we who belong to Christ are that we have crucified or put to death the deceitful desires and lusts of the flesh. We do not gratify these desires or feed these lusts. We do not expect salvation as we fulfil the requirements of the Mosaic law but as Christ lives in us and we live by His grace. The process of putting to death the flesh and its evil desires is not a one day affair but lifelong. We need to take every thought captive to Christ meaning every thought should be such that it honours Christ. We need to also submit our words to the filters of the Holy Spirit to remove all impurities and anything that is unclean or unworthy of God. We model our lives on what Christ taught and the example He set. He is not just Saviour but our Lord and Leader. Christ did not hold back anything from us. He gave Himself fully for us. In reciprocation, we need to give ourselves fully to Him.
Crucifixion of our flesh and its desires is a painful process for it involves dying to oneself in the spirit and living for God. It does not however means that we do not have legitimate desires. It involves a killing of one’s ego and surrendering ourselves completely to the Lord. But it does not imply self abnegation or renunciation. In fact, we end up living more fully. Our motivation for living changes. We no longer live for ourselves or to please ourselves. We live to please the Lord and win His favour. We willingly give up habits or actions that we now realize does not magnify the name of Christ. The focus of our lives are changed from the mere gratification of our earthly desires to the glorification of God.
The focus or central point around which our lives revolve is not I, me and myself but Christ. It is no longer I and Him but Christ who lives in me. The source of our joy, hope and our blessings, the fulfilment of our legitimate needs and desires is our personal relationship with Jesus. A pure love for God and man replaces our erstwhile selfish desires, vain aims and priorities of life. Our values are transformed so that our soul and its needs are more valuable than our bodies or the physical realm. Our perspective is changed from the temporal to the eternal. We seek the wisdom, perfection and grace of Christ in all that we do.

Prateep V Philip