I T is important in our spiritual growth and maturity to realize fully our standing in the Saviour’s grace. As a missionary traveling ex tensively all over the world, I have the opportunity to give out the Word of God in Bible Conferences and churches. Luke 9:23 has struck me forcefully, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Denial of self speaks to us of cru cifixion. To take up His cross spells out in large letters identification. In obeying His command, “Follow me,” we see the thought of presentation. Just how willing are we to come to the point of being crucified with Christ? This means to deny the self life within me. There is the need for absolute surrender. We must yield ourselves to the Lord without any reservation whatsoever in order that we might be an effective wit ness for Him. We must come to the end of ourselves that God may be all in all. All too few have entered into the glorious reality of such an ex perience. Back of all successful work for the lost is an inward spiritual impulse from the Holy Spirit who reproduces Christ in us. It is the brand mark of the cross, the living experience which must both enter and control the life before we are fit for service. Self is often the strongest single deterrent to accom plish God’s will (II Cor. 9:14, 15). Before accepting Christ, my life was characterized by self-exaltation, am bition, and indulgence. I was deter mined to have my own way regard less of what the cost might be. I was like the rich fool described in Luke
12. It is a life lived independent of God and in the energy of the flesh. The flesh, as Paul rightly pointed out to the Galatian Christians, will never p e r f e c t anything spiritually. The flesh profiteth nothing (John 6:63). The flesh contains no good thing (Horn. 7:18). Those who live in this manner cannot please God (Bom. 8:8, 13). It is sad to note at this point that when the Lord’s people are called to identify themselves with Christ in His death, dying to all that they are and all that they hope to be, there is a drawing away from such a b le ss ed experience (Phe. 5:29). Why would we nourish and cherish the protection of our sinful flesh? God calls upon us to crucify and mor tify it. Our wonderful Lord, who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, in order to pro vide a perfect salvation, wants us realistically to enter into the truth of Galatians 2:20. Do you know what that means in your life day-by-day? As God puts before us this command that we might rise to walk in new ness of life with the Lord, living life on the highest plane, Satan, the enemy of our soul will put all kinds of delays and difficulties in our way. I believe this is what Christ had in mind when in John 12:24 He states, “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die it bringeth forth much fru it!” Can one really be a disci ple and servant and yet not be will ing to abdicate the throne of his heart, dying to all that he is, and let ting the Saviour have complete con trol? I love the hymn that testifies “Not I, but Christ be honored, loved, exalted. Not I, but Christ be seen,
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