Crucified With Christ

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.

(Galatians 2:20)

Meditation

I used to walk through life looking forward to the next party, the next shallow relationship or some other distraction to fill a hole I felt in my heart. I was in so much pain, I didn’t really care if I hurt anyone else while I was satisfying my search for, what I thought was, happiness. I was selfish in my pursuits, but so was pretty much everyone else around me. We were all using and hurting each other. I think you could say, we were all searching for a purpose for our existence. After a while, just living for yourself, gets really old. That hole is in every heart that doesn’t know Jesus.

I now realize the happiness offered by this world is fleeting, hollow, and unsatisfying at best. When I’d wake the next day after the raucous party, I was never very happy. In fact, I was usually pretty sick. However, it was more than a physical ailment, it was a deep, almost bottomless, emptiness that went to the core of my being. The really sad thing is; I would repeat that pattern the next chance I got. It was a vicious cycle. My conscience was seared to the point that I didn’t see I was hurting others and myself.

When I gave my life to Christ, the Father took my sins and hung them on the cross with Jesus. The old me was buried with Christ in the waters of baptism. When I came up from those waters I was cleansed, reborn, a brand-new person. Everything I had ever done was forgiven and forgotten by God. I finally had the happiness and joy that I had been searching for all of my adult life. The search is finally over. I don’t have to pretend to be happy because I’ve got real joy in my heart. I now live to serve the Lord with my whole heart.

Jesus died on the cross for you too! No one but Jesus can fill the hole in your heart. Not the contents of a bottle, not drugs, not sex, not the new car, not new clothes or jewelry, nothing you can find here will ultimately satisfy you like Jesus. He doesn’t just cleanse you and then sit up in heaven waiting for you to make a mistake. No, he gives you his Spirit to guide you the rest of your days. If you haven’t yet given yourself to Jesus, he stands at the door to your heart waiting for you to let him in. He will give you a fresh start just like he did for me. Hallelujah!

Daily Prayer

Heavenly Father, it’s this time of year we’re so thankful for who you are. A God who loves us so much, he is willing to die for us. Even though we don’t deserve a single molecule of Jesus blood to be shed for us, he willingly went to the cross. His is the only name we can call on to be saved. Once we do call on him, you take our sins and crucify them on the cross. We thank you so much for your willingness to be a sacrifice for us. We thank you, Lord, for leaving our old dead souls in the grave of baptism, making us a new creation. It’s not our wills that direct our lives any longer because the Spirit of Christ is living in us. Now we are sustained daily by our faith in Jesus, the Son of God, who gave himself for us. It’s such a wonderful, giving, and selfless thing for him to do. There is no way we can thank him enough. In his precious name, we pray. Amen!