Our measure of death = Christ's measure of life

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me...

Galatians 2:20

Jesus said that those who want to follow Him must take up their crosses DAILY and follow Him. In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul sais, "I die DAILY"... So following Jesus is a daily act of denying ourselves, laying down our desires and our will and taking up the desires and the will of the Father. As Jesus sais in John 5:30, "I do not seek My own will, but the will of My Father who sent Me."

I've recently experienced, and I'll add that it hasn't always been a nice experience, that Christ can only be alive in areas in our lives where we are dead. Yes, Jesus IS the risen King and He HAS conquered death and sin, but He can only be the risen King in my life when I am dead. In my own life I've seen that Christ is Lord in certain areas of my life, but not in all. That I've died to myself in certain areas, but not in all. And it's exactly in those areas where I hurt relationships. Family, friends and above all, my relationship with my Saviour.

I think of it as a glass of water. And the aim for the glass is actually not to be full, but empty. And that is a diffycult concept to grasp for us humans. Empty means, well, empty. So we add something to it to make it appear less empty. I see myself as a glass that is half-full, as being half-dead. With the result that Jesus can only be half-alive through my life. The measure of the contents in the glass determines the capacity that's left for Jesus to pour Himself into. We have to be empty. Completely empty, that we can be completely filled with the fullness that is Christ.

Maybe you're glass, just as mine, is half full. Maybe you are also seeing the effects of the little areas in your life where sin is still alive. The solution is found in John 3:30 - He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.

It's in dying to ourselves that Christ is alive through us...

Our measure of death = Christ's measure of life through us...