This is true joy in life, the being used up for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.
~George Bernard Shaw
Oh beloved, it is true. Salvation is not just about getting saved from hell. It is gloriously that! But, also gloriously, it is about us getting saved from ourselves and brought into His Presence. While not intuitive at first, a person who wholly surrenders themselves to Christ does, in fact, die. Galatians 2:20 says:
- I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
What dies is that old rotten “me.” The “I” that is the middle letter in the word “sin.” The “I” that says: “I want what I want, when I want it – NOW.” Be honest, we all know that person in us. But, oh wow is there good news. We can be free from that bondage. We can live in a joyful, patient, quiet peace that literally passes way beyond understanding.
There is, however, just one answer: to be consumed with and by Jesus Christ. There is no other answer. He must burn away the old, and the new creation we are (2 Cor. 5:17) must only burn for Him. There is no balance to this equation. There is no sliding scale. If we are wondering why verses like Philippians 4:7 don’t “work” in our lives,
- 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
it may be because we miss verses 4-6.
Verse 4: ALL our joy is in the Lord.
Verse 5: Tell EVERYONE about the Lord and how He is changing you.
Verse 6: Don’t worry about ANYTHING.
There is no wiggle room for the “old man” to operate – zero. Our lives are to be about rejoicing in Him all the time, sharing the Gospel, and – through prayer – letting G_d handle ALL the problems in our life ALL the time. Then verse 7 works: After we are consumed by Him in all things, HIS peace guards our hearts. And because it is none of our own old stupid attempts at finding peace, it is G_d-sized, G_d-quality peace.
editor’s note: Oh by the way… G_d’s peace totally rocks….
Being consumed with Christ is so foreign in the modern church. I was praying about ways to wrap this up, but it seemed better to let some wiser writers weigh in on the subject. Please read on.
“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
~ Jim Elliott
This is truly a “narrow way.” but it not a difficult way. It is narrow because each step is regulated by God’s will. This way has only one principle, which is to not reserve any ground for the self. As such, it is a narrow way. A little deviation from God’s will takes us away from this way. However, this is not a difficult way. When the soul-life is consumed, habits, hobbies, desires, and cravings are broken one by one, and nothing opposes God anymore. Consequently, one does not feel that it is a difficult way. Unfortunately, many believers have not even entered the door or walked on this way. There are also some who do not have patience and who leave this way before reaching the point of sweetness. But whether the period of hardship is long or short, one thing is certain: only this way is the way of life. This is the way of God. Therefore, it is true and sure. Whoever wants to have abundant life has no choice but to walk in this way.
~ Watchman Nee – from The Spiritual Man
“Salvation does not mean merely deliverance from sin or the experience of personal holiness. The salvation which comes from God means being completely delivered from myself, and being placed into perfect union with Him. When I think of my salvation experience, I think of being delivered from sin and gaining personal holiness. But salvation is so much more! It means that the Spirit of God has brought me into intimate contact with the true Person of God Himself. And as I am caught up into total surrender to God, I become thrilled with something infinitely greater than myself.
To say that we are called to preach holiness or sanctification is to miss the main point. We are called to proclaim Jesus Christ. The fact that He saves from sin and makes us holy is actually part of the effect of His wonderful and total surrender to us.
If we are truly surrendered, we will never be aware of our own efforts to remain surrendered. Our entire life will be consumed with the One to whom we surrender. Beware of talking about surrender if you know nothing about it. In fact, you will never know anything about it until you understand that John 3:16 means that God completely and absolutely gave Himself to us. In our surrender, we must give ourselves to God in the same way He gave Himself for us— totally, unconditionally, and without reservation. The consequences and circumstances resulting from our surrender will never even enter our mind, because our life will be totally consumed with Him.”
~ Oswald Chambers – Consumed With Jesus
Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin, and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen; such alone will shake the gates of Hell and set up the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.
~ John Wesley
