The death of the cross.
Posted by appolus on December 18, 2020
Phi 2:5 For let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Himself the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
And so Jesus, being found in the likeness of man, humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. How many of us know that when a friend or a family member is dying or seriously ill, then we gather around them and comfort them? There are also doctors and nurses to ease their pain. This is not so when we are dying to the flesh.
There will be an agony which we have to deal with alone. The comforts and sympathies of this world do not help us when we are dying a spiritual death, in fact it is quite the opposite, it tends to prolong the process. When you hear “there , there,” when you are in the midst of a great struggle, from well meaning people you will not be comforted. The comfort there, in your spiritual dying, is the discovering that when God is all you have, God is all you need. The cross is not comfortable, it is the very opposite of comfort. It’s not just a dying, its the dying of the cross. A suffering of loss.
Yet in the midst of dying to ourselves we are called to life, spiritual life. In the seemingly endless paradoxes between life in the spirit and our life on this earth we are called to have the mind of Christ and have the life of Christ in us. It is in the midst of dying to our flesh that we find the hidden treasures of life in the Spirit. The gross darkness of the death of the cross reveals the life and the light of Christ in us. This is the crucified life and we find it as we humble ourselves and take on the form of a servant and walk in obedience to our heavenly calling. Will you walk in the life of the Spirit today?
A Call To The Remnant 
Prayergate said
Bro. Frank,
I’ve never heard truer words spoken (except from the Word of God). And yet, they will not appeal to very many Christian ears … even for some of those who puportedly “love the truth”. In fact, the phenomenon has to be experienced in order to even be understood. It is definitely not something to be accepted by “mental assent”; nor, can it be!
Blessings, my dear Brother, as you continue in the faith. Have you noticed how fast things are accelerating in both the natural and the spiritual?
Tim 🙂
appolus said
You are right on the money Tim. On my devotional page, a post like this will receive the least amount of views, shares and comments. Of course it is not a surprise to me but I find myself writing more and more about what it means to die, the necessity of it, and the the joy of it as we realize the will of God in it. The more we die the more we desire to die. Circumstances become avenues. Trials become yieldings to the Potter. God bless you dear brother, we have been around together for a wee while now. Your faith and your wisdom is a blessing……………….bro Frank