Sometimes we get so focused on our blessings, or lack of them, that we determine the health of our spirituality—or our closeness with our Savior—by what God is giving or withholding from us. Nothing could be further from what Jesus taught. In Luke 9:23, He said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me” (NIV). The crucified life is not only a prerequisite for following Him, but an indicator that we are His.
In Mark 4:20, when Jesus explained to his disciples the parable of the sower, he said, “But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred” (NKJV). The late Bible teacher and preacher A.W. Tozer explained in his book, The Crucified Life, that to be “a hundred-fold Christian” (one who produces much fruit for the kingdom of God), one must be acquainted with Jesus’ death and know what it means to daily die to self and live “the crucified life.”
The apostle Paul revealed his secret for his closeness with Christ: “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me” (NASB). Do you desire to walk even closer to Jesus? Walk the Calvary road with Him and daily die to self by giving up your rights for what He wants, and thus live the crucified life.
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