The Art of Dying to Self
November 14, 2011The Art of Dying to Self
20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.
The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God,
who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God,
for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!
Galatians 2:20-21 (NIV)
Many of you won’t know this, but these are my life verses. God allowed me to see them when I was embracing His call into full-time pulpit ministry. Somehow I knew these words captured my whole transition from a person of this world into a person of Christ’s kingdom. But the depth of transitional living became more intense, more acute as God’s Spirit made me more aware of my deep need for His grace as He called me to be genuine with the love I show on the outside as well as with the love I have in my heart.
Many of you will know this about me; I really struggle living out my life verses! Sometimes, outwardly loving is hard, but loving in my heart is intensely difficult. If we think about it, the flaws of loving outwardly as a Christian are only a small eruption of the magma lake of inadequacies we know is lying under the surface of our thin heart skin. When it is difficult for me to forgive fully outwardly; then how more grim the prospects of heart forgiveness? When I am unable to subdue the anger that is sometimes worn on my face; then how much harder to pacify the rage that I wear in my spirit.
When we stop and pay attention to the Spirit’s words in Galatians, we find these verses to be a Christian manifesto so to speak. Though the words need not be every Christian’s life verses, these words certainly are every Christian’s statement of death to self-righteousness and life unto Christ-righteousness; ergo the struggle of dying to self! I’ve heard it said “the trouble with living sacrifices is that they keep crawling off the alter.” That statement so summarizes the internal struggle in my heart as God sanctifies me with the art of dying to self. There are many questions provoked when we are serious about take up the cross assignment of yielding to Christ’s life within and through us; questions like “what can I do with my unresolved anger?” How do I forgive when all the right steps do not appear to be taken? How come I can’t rid myself of sadness? Why am I so judgmental? How do I love when tired? And here is one of my personal favorites, “Why can’t I be right?”
Maybe like me you wish there was some easy handbook to follow, or you wish the Bible would be as clear for me as it seems to be for others, but the truth is, there are no easy steps for a gospel life of faith. Instead, they are the steps to one’s ownCalvary. The more clear the Bible’s teachings are to me; the more clearly others see the teachings of God’s word through me. This is why dying to self is an art! It is the creative work of Christ within us pushing, pulling, and carrying us along with our cross-life. It is a dignity and privilege to follow our Master by Christ-like behavior. Like children, we have fits and starts, bumps and bruises along the way, but in the end is the destination of scars like Jesus!
Artistry always begins with a tool, be it brush, stone, chisel, etc. In our case it will start with wood, flesh and blood. I am not talented with artistic gifts, in fact I can’t draw a stick-man, but I do love to watch it happen. One of my favorite things to watch is the potter with a piece of clay on a wheel. I love to watch their hands throw down a lump of clay on the wheel and begin their work. A potter really seems to put that clay on the wheel with some force! If I were that piece of clay, I’d want to say “what’s up with the slam?” I don’t know for sure but I would guess the answer is “Because I’m going to spin you around a bit, put my strong hands on you, and then put some heat to you, so that I can make you into a beautiful work of Mine! But you’re going to work with me by holding on and having faith no matter how fast the wheel turns, no matter the pressure you feel from my hands you need to trust me that I won’t let you slide off the wheel.”
This is the beginning of the art of dying to self, believing that God is taking you, a lump of dirt, and is in the process of making you a beautiful work of His art. We must be securely attached to the wheel so we won’t slide off. Over the next several weeks I’d like you to join me as we learn together answers to some mysteries of life and how we can yield in significant ways to the Potters hand’s as we become a new creation in Christ!
Stay on the Wheel,
Pastor Brad
