December 22, 2025 -- Galatians 6:14 -- The world crucified to me and I to the world
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But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
Galatians 6:14 ESV
As we continue to examine sin—its far-reaching, devastating effects on us—consider the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
Is there some part of your life which you are refusing to surrender at his
behest, some sinful passion, maybe, or some animosity, some hope,
perhaps your ambition or your reason? If so you must not be surprised
that you have not received the Holy Spirit. The cross is laid on every
Christian. The first Christ-suffering which every man must experience
is the call to abandon the attachments to this world…The cross is not the
terrible ending to an otherwise god-fearing and happy life, but it meets us
at the beginning of our communion with Christ. When Christ calls a man,
he bids him come and die. (As quoted in Sinclair Ferguson, Devoted to
God’s Church, East Preoria: THE BANNER OF TRUTH TRUST, reprinted
2022, page 42.)
Why is Christ not all-together lovely to you? Ask yourself, what are you not surrendering.
Why is the Christian life a drudgery and duty that seems hollow and hard? Ask yourself what passion you are holding onto instead of clinging to Jesus for dear life which in turn results in life that is dear and sweet.
The apostle Paul’s own life bears witness to his costly love for Jesus. At the cross Paul laid down his former justifications, his old way of life, he left religious colleagues and status. He despised the old system, the old way of life and his own pride. Thus humbled, the Spirit aided him until his heart emptied of himself, and he was strengthened in his inner man to fully receive the Father’s love which was so extravagantly his in Christ.
Why do some Christians claim there is no suffering in the Christian life—at least not in North America? I would argue it is because they have not met Christ who bid him come and die. Your former life consisted of, embraced in fact, sin and rebellion. When a man or woman has been made alive in Christ, the world is exposed as rotting flesh and the stench the emanates from it. The beginning of our communion with Christ is an experience of death, the awareness of how dead we were in sin. Life in Christ is the refusal to return to pathways of sin and rebellion against God. Life in Christ is wondrous, free, sweet.
Our Father in heaven, You are compassionate and glorious! Thank You for raising us from death to life through Jesus Christ. Spirit of the Living God, shine the word into every crevice of our heart and every hidden corner, so that all lingering sin and any hoarded shred of our old life is removed. Shine in us, and through us, Holy Spirit, so that the world is crucified to us, and we to the world. Then Spirit of God, cause our communion with Jesus to flower, to deepen, and continually bear the rich fruit of life and this to the glory of our Father in heaven. Amen.
https://youtu.be/-BUpskcVd_k?si=hrjjOqa0auqSQ4Rx I Make my Life a Prayer to You
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