Dying for Christ

According to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Philippians 1:20-21

We often talk about living for Christ.  But, are we ready to die for Christ?  Are we ready to die to self?  Too frequently we say this is the way we are and we can't change.  However, if we say that we can't change, as Christians we are denying the power of the Holy Spirit.  We are in essence stating that our flesh is more powerful than the precious blood of the Lamb.

We are to put ourselves on the altar, presenting ourselves as living sacrifices holy and acceptable to God. This requires death.  Something has to die for life to occur.  A seed dies in the earth and is buried away for new life to spurt that is abundant and fresh.  

Trying to cheat death to self, we remain egotistical and can never fully accomplish our God given purpose.  Sometimes it is our humiliation which humbles us after it helps to kill our flesh. Our shame is a necessary part of living for Christ and it enables us to better encourage others in their Christian walk as we remember that Jesus too suffered the "shame of the cross."  He did this so that we could have life more abundantly.  

It is not just about us, God is thinking about how much we can accomplish when he helps to murder our flesh and annihilate our ego. This is all a part of dying for Christ, so that the world will have much to gain.