Jesus said to His disciples,
"If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself…" —Matthew
16:24
{CHAMBERS} “Individuality is the hard outer layer surrounding the
inner spiritual life. Individuality shoves others aside, separating and
isolating people. We see it as the primary characteristic of a child, and
rightly so. When we confuse individuality with the spiritual life, we remain
isolated. This shell of individuality is God’s created natural covering
designed to protect the spiritual life. But our individuality must be yielded
to God so that our spiritual life may be brought forth into fellowship with
Him. […] The characteristics of individuality are independence and self-will.
We hinder our spiritual growth more than any other way by continually asserting
our individuality. […] Watch yourself closely when the Spirit of God is at work
in you. He pushes you to the limits of your individuality where a choice must
be made. The choice is either to say, “I will not surrender,” or to surrender,
breaking the hard shell of individuality, which allows the spiritual life to
emerge. […] God wants to bring you into union with Himself, but unless you are
willing to give up your right to yourself, He cannot. “…let him deny himself…”—
deny his independent right to himself. Then the real life-the spiritual life-is
allowed the opportunity to grow.”
{ELGIN} There are two sides to this coin. The natural and the supernatural. I am sure you have heard the saying “The
apple does not fall too far from the tree.”
Or how about “He is just like his dad.” I remember that one. Before I
type what I am going to type, let me preface it by saying my mom was a godly
woman who led many to Jesus. Before her
rebirth .. well she was just like every other person who needs Jesus. My parents were divorced when I was 2 years
old. I was one of four, the youngest, from
my parents marriage. We lived with my
mom. Years later, my mom admitted she
got married for the wrong reason .. one of 15 children she wanted out of the
house. Many people make choices like
that. The consequences of those “flesh” choices
reverberate through their lives and the
lives of their children and maybe even their children. OK, so one day I did something she didn’t
like and she said to me “Stop doing that you remind me of your father!” I can remember
thinking, “Don’t be like your father or you will lose the love of your mother.” It proved to be a deterrent from my wanting
to be like him in any way. Well that is
the natural. By the way, I shared Christ
with my dad while he lay dying in the hospital.
He told me that he accepted Jesus as his savior. It’s not an issue of who you are reflecting
but “what” you are reflecting in who you are reflecting. There is a significant interest in finding
your genetic roots. Ancestry.com is advertised
a lot on television. People want to
know. Ancestry.com is connected to – sponsored
by the Mormons. Know where they came
from is an important part of their belief system. Well, on the natural side the Bible tells us .. we came from Adam. We are a reflection of Adam. (Romans
3:23) “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” In other words .. we are not like our heavenly
father. People think they can find
meaning and perhaps comfort in knowing their ancestry. What they need to know is Jesus. Jesus told
Nicodemus … (John 3:3-8) “You must be born again … by the Spirit”
So on to the supernatural. Being
a reflection of our Father in heaven is always a good thing. But to do that you
must be born again and walking after the Spirit and not the flesh. Jesus said (John 14:9) “If you have seen Me you
have seen the Father.” Jesus was and is a reflection of the Father. They are indistinguishable. Jesus prayed (John 17:21) “that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are
in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe
that you have sent me” Paul wrote (Romans
8:29-30) “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the
image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and
sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also
justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” Jesus said (John 5:30) “ because I do not seek My own will but the will of the
Father who sent Me.” When we reflect
Jesus, we reflect the Father. There is no room for our old nature or its
individuality. Our identity is in
Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:17) “..old things are passed away .. everything is
becoming new” But be on your guard because
your flesh will surely rise up and demand its place in your life. All I can say is you must take it to the
altar (Romans 12:1-2)
Final note: I won’t know for sure if my dad was being
honest or just trying to appease me with his death bed profession of faith until
I get to heaven, but I pray that we both are reflecting our heavenly Father. Me here on earth and him in glory.
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