Musings

“I have been crucified with Christ; 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 for me.” —Galatians 2:20 NKJV

He was excited about life and passionate about his position and responsibilities. As he stood guarding the clothes of those stoning Stephen, he saw the people’s approval of the murder of the first man martyred for that Man they called “The Christ.” From that moment on, young Saul made it his mission to root out, chase down, and make life a living hell for any and everyone who was of “The Way.”

He was brutal in this task and gave it his all. Still, back in his mind rang the indelible last words Stephen had uttered as the last stone hit its mark, and he fell asleep. “Lord, do not charge them with this sin” (Acts 7:60b NKJV).

Then, with arrest warrants in hand, somewhere on the road to a place called Damascus, Saul was blinded by the Light, and he came face to face with “The Living Way.” (See Acts 9:1-9.)

Surely, with his credentials—from the tribe of Benjamin, a Roman citizen, a Hebrew of Hebrews, a Pharisee of Pharisees—and laying claim that he kept the Law to the very letter, Saul had an in with God. Surely, he must be all set! (See Philippians 3:5-6.)

Now, here he was, on the ground, groping around in the dust and the dark. The leader was now being led. The self-reliant one now relied on others for the most menial and personal tasks. The teacher of the Law could not even read one letter of the Law. Physically blinded by The Light, he now saw how spiritually blind he had been. At that moment, Saul died, and Paul was born. He later called it being “crucified with Christ.”

What does it mean to be “crucified with Christ”? Like Paul, our sins have been nailed to the cross of Christ, just as though our bodies had been nailed there with Him. The old us has died, and a new us has been born. Our sins have been done away with, their penalty paid in full. Our life is no longer ours, for we have been bought with the price of Christ’s blood (see 1 Corinthians 6:20). We now belong to Him as His slaves (see Romans 6:18).

At its deepest level, having been crucified with Christ and now being His slaves means that we willingly relinquish all rights to ourselves, and life becomes nothing about us and everything about Him.

In the day-to-day, it means that we cannot accept Christ’s gift of salvation and then leave Him standing in the foyer of our hearts while we do our own thing. Instead, as Lord, He now has full access to every room, closet, and drawer. Every book, movie, and album we read, set our eyes on, play in our mind, or tune our ears to is now Christ-ruled. We now choose to make every recess and shadow of our heart available for His searching, cleansing, and reigning.

The beautiful paradox is that being crucified with and slaves of Christ means that we are now free! We are free from the trappings of the old man because that man is dead. We no longer have to hang onto guilt over past sins. We no longer have to strive to be good enough. We are freed from feeling like we are continually running in place and never getting anywhere. Free from being pulled in a million worldly directions because now there’s only one direction we need to go. Free to be a Christ-pleaser rather than a people-pleaser. Free to let go of grudges, unforgiveness, anger, resentment, and fear because now we have a spirit of love and a sound mind (see 2 Timothy 1:7). Free to give up the hill of self-importance because we have died, and our life is now hidden in Christ (see Colossians 3:3). We are free to walk away from the chains that once held us captive but now lay loosed at our feet. We are free to refuse to travel down roads that lead nowhere except to heartache, pain, and devastation because He has promised to lead us in the way everlasting (see Psalm 139:24). We are free from self-reliance because now we are reliant on Him. We are freer now than we have ever been!

With what we have “lost” in being crucified with Christ, we gain every spiritual blessing in the Heavenly places in Christ Jesus (see Ephesians 1:3).

Father, help me continually yield every area of my life to You. I love You, Lord!

Embrace the Cross
Where Jesus suffered
Though it will cost
All you claim as yours
Your sacrifice will seem small
Beside the treasure
Eternity can’t measure
What Jesus holds in store.
(Songwriter: John G. Elliot)

 

In Him,
Donna Perkins

 

 

Sweet Selah Ministries 

Vision
To inspire a movement away from the belief that “busy is better”
and toward the truth of God’s Word that stillness and knowing
Him matter most—and will be reflected in more effective work and service

Mission
To offer biblical resources and retreats that help women pause (Selah)
and love God more deeply as they know Him more intimately (Sweet

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