But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross
of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world
is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.
Galatians 6:14
Earlier today, I was talking with a friend who primarily works with young persons...
of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world
is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.
Galatians 6:14
Earlier today, I was talking with a friend who primarily works with young persons...
I was sharing my concerns that at least in North America, the body of Christ has, for the most part, become very self-indulgent. We wish comfort and success for ourselves, which is nice, but the days when Christianity emphasized the laying down of our lives for Christ and laboring for the lost through prayer and by sharing the gospel, are not what they once were.
I’m guilty of this, too. I know I could do a better job of being a light for Jesus. The apostle Paul, being considered by many to be one of the champions of Christian discipleship, said he only wanted to glory in the cross.
This cross represented death to one’s self. By its very nature, the cross stands for a life of self-denial and separation from the world. It also represents a separation from the world’s system of self-ambition, a lust for prestige and power, and greed.
In Jesus' day, the cross was a symbol of shame. It was a means by which criminals would be put to death. It was something to be scorned, and not something one would desire.
For the apostle Paul, he wanted nothing more than to know the Lord Jesus in an intimate way. While at the same time, the world had nothing to offer him, at least not when compared to eternity.
Paul sought life with Christ, but death to wasteful, selfish materialism. He and the world were headed in opposite directions. Paul, to heaven. The world, to hell.
Learning such scriptural truths leaves me with the choice to follow Christ, as Paul did, or to go with the world that will one day meet its judgment, and its doom.
D.B.
I’m guilty of this, too. I know I could do a better job of being a light for Jesus. The apostle Paul, being considered by many to be one of the champions of Christian discipleship, said he only wanted to glory in the cross.
This cross represented death to one’s self. By its very nature, the cross stands for a life of self-denial and separation from the world. It also represents a separation from the world’s system of self-ambition, a lust for prestige and power, and greed.
In Jesus' day, the cross was a symbol of shame. It was a means by which criminals would be put to death. It was something to be scorned, and not something one would desire.
For the apostle Paul, he wanted nothing more than to know the Lord Jesus in an intimate way. While at the same time, the world had nothing to offer him, at least not when compared to eternity.
Paul sought life with Christ, but death to wasteful, selfish materialism. He and the world were headed in opposite directions. Paul, to heaven. The world, to hell.
Learning such scriptural truths leaves me with the choice to follow Christ, as Paul did, or to go with the world that will one day meet its judgment, and its doom.
D.B.
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