Dying to Live

“If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it” (Mt. 16:24-25). It is a natural inclination of mankind to strive and seek to live. But if our desire is set selfishly on ourselves and what we want, promoting ourselves above others, then we are in fact not living but dying. Self-centered existence is but the beginning of death. Christ Jesus tells us: it is only in losing our life that we find it. The Lord Jesus gave Himself completely for all of us, even to death on the Cross. When we endure insults from other people, when we love those who hate us, when we stop our mouths from speaking foul words, crude jokes or wrongly about others (remembering that from the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks); conversely when we bless those who cause us trouble and give thanks for everything, then our hearts will have welling up inside that unstoppable fountain of life, love and truth. This is the fruit of the Cross. It is not acquired easily or cheaply, for it demands our very life; and we must desire it.

If we plant the Cross in our heart, how could envy or dislike of others ever find a place in it? From the Cross Christ forgave even those who crucified Him. If the Cross becomes the center of our being then we will be given grace to endure all things with joy and love. The bitter waters which life may bring become sweet through the power of the Cross, the iron bars of hell fall and crumble, the barren plain of death becomes a fertile field bringing forth the abundant fruit of life. All the ups and downs of earthly living become one saving act, one once in a life time opportunity to become Christ-like.

The way of Christ, the way of the Cross is not the way of this fallen world. He commands us: do you wish to be first? become the last. Do wish to be strong? Become like a little child. Do you desire eternal riches? Become poor in spirit. Do you desire Heaven? Humble yourself to the earth and even to hell. Do you desire eternal joy? Endure, patiently suffering all things. Do you wish to truly live? Then lay down your life, your rights, everything that is yours, die to yourself and this world. When the Cross is set on the hill of our heart and we ascend to it willingly then we shall breath the sweet air of paradise; then the Cross becomes for us the tree of life, and not an instrument of annihilation and torture.

The Cross teaches us to simply love God, not for our own gain, not to receive something in return, not even to get to heaven, but simply because He is God - the Lover of mankind. He came and redeemed all of humanity, even while we were yet in our sins. He stood us up when we had fallen, washed us from the filth of sin and death by His very blood. He delivered us from the bonds of death and corruption. There is no other God besides Him, there is no other Redeemer of mankind. His love for us is endless and beyond words, His care for us without measure, His mercy is forever. It is through the Cross, personally experienced in our lives, that we know this to be reality. The Cross is the wellspring of our resurrection.