Another season brings to mind the obvious. Old things have passed away and all things have become new - a new creation. But it is good to ask ourselves, "What are the old things that have passed away or that should
have passed away?" Has "living for self" passed away? Has living
for God my goal?
When you ask the question, "Why did Christ die?",
many rightly answer. "Christ died for our sins." That is absolutely
right, but unfortunately that is just one part of the answer. Here is the full
answer: "Christ died so that I may never again live for myself, but for
Him. (2 Cor 5:15) Living primarily for myself frustrates the purpose for which
Christ died. Adapting a life style that compromises sin is taking advantage of
the fact Christ died for our sins, and the grace of
God. I remember somebody said: "Taking advantage of God's grace is like
treating the Blood of Christ as tap water." Satan has blinded our
eyes to the FULL truth of God. The
father of lies has always prevented us from understanding Christ's death, and
in case we understood the first part, he makes all efforts to blind our eyes to
the full purpose of Christ's death.
One can clearly see how self-centered life and sin are
connected. We can safely say the root of all sin is self-centered life. As long
as one lives for oneself, victory over sin can never be accomplished. As long
as the root of the evil tree has not been chopped off, it will keep producing
evil fruit. Getting rid of sin on the surface is easy but the root of living
for oneself has to be chopped off.
Let's get deeper my dear brothers and sisters. Let's get to
the root. Yes! Christ came to give us VICTORY and ABUNDANT LIFE. Don't settle
for anything less. Live abundantly this season. In Christ we have the victory.
Remember Aristotle's words: "I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is over self."
But something greater is Christ's words: "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."
