Lay Down Your Life

Imagine for a moment…

You are walking along the shoreline. Drawn by the beauty of the ocean, you decide to step into the water for a swim. The water feels peaceful, cool against your skin. But suddenly, the current shifts, and you find yourself in the deep end. You begin to swim harder, pushing against the pull but it drags you further and deeper. Panic sets in. You attempt to cry out for help, but your voice is swallowed by the water filling your mouth. The sea that moments ago sparkled under the sun now appears as a dark looming wall, towering over and enclosing you. You feel your strength fading as you struggle to overcome its tow. Your limbs grow heavy. Your eyelids begin to close. The darkness takes hold.

Just as you lose consciousness, you feel a tug on your arm.

Moments later, you're on the shore. The man who pulled you out of the water is over you performing CPR on your lifeless body. His determination is unwavering, even as his own strength begins to leave him. Time passes. The crowd that has gathered grows restless and urge him to stop, believing the situation is hopeless and dangerous for him to keep going. The man knows that if he continues, he will drain all of his strength and possibly die. But he looks at the lifeless body in his hands. Tears stream down his cheeks as he lifts his face to heaven and utters a silent prayer. With his last breath, he breathes into the mouth of the lifeless body then collapses.

You wake up to find the man laying dead beside you. You realize what he has just done to save you. The crowd is astonished. But some call him a fool, while others call him a hero.

But to you, He is your Saviour.

If Jesus laid down His life for you, would laying down your life for another seem absurd? Would it be an unfair expectation?

What if you came across someone drowning in a pool of sin, or existing but lifeless in a state of unbelief? Would you walk past them? Or would you risk your comfort, your reputation...even your life to rescue them? Would that be too great a burden?

To recognize what Jesus sacrificed so that we might be the recipient of His gift of new life awakens a joy and gladness that fuels us to proclaim our identity as children of God-Children of a Saviour who loves us so dearly that He suffered terribly unto death for our sake. To recognize His gift means we are proud to inherit His name. And like children to a Father, we begin to bear His resemblance in all we do. True faith does not hide in shame or cower in fear over His incredible gift.

“A servant is not greater than his master.” (Matthew 10:24)

If our Master saw that we were worth dying for, should we, His servants, not be willing to die to ourselves for His sake? Perhaps, it's easier to deny any association with Him out of fear or shame, and instead create a different identity for ourselves.

The choice is always ours: to be known by the world or to be known by God; to bear a mortal name or to bear His everlasting name.

The power of the cross is that it transforms us. When we believe and surrender to its power, we experience the transformation that Jesus promises to those who love Him. It is through that transformation that we emanate His glory, no matter the cost.

So, it is not unreasonable for God to ask of us:

“Take up your cross and follow Me.”

Because in following Him, we know that what we walk away from is nothing compared to what we walk toward. It is no burden to bear the honor and glory held in the righteous name of Jesus Christ!

So let us earnestly bring to mind the gospel as we:

• Study His Word,

• Submit to its power, and

• Respond in obedience.

  
  

And let us stand strong as we live out our faith in community, not in shame or fear, but covered by the overwhelming joy of His gift of everlasting life.

“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 body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)