Living or Dying

"Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sins as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness." (Romans 6:12-13)

Dying as a Christian is an easy thing. In fact, every Christian that has ever existed has an appointment for the end of their earthly life. If someone were to walk up to me with a gun and tell me to renounce Jesus as my Lord and Savior there would be no consideration of such an action. Perhaps even the temptation to plead for him to send me to my heavenly home would be present. However, dying to myself daily is a much greater and more painful task. Denying those desires our bodies for the sake of proclaiming the gospel is simple, but not easy. When i'm walking by restaurant knowing there is money enough in my pocket to grab something to eat: Do i satisfy that desire immediately or do i hold to a budget that will allow me to by more tracts, or Bibles, or food for the hungry.

Further on in Romans 12 Paul encourages us to present our whole bodies as a living sacrifice, but here his encouragement is concerning the individual members of our body.

What parts of your body are you needing to reckon unto righteousness?

Your eyes? - What are you looking at?

Your ears? - What are you listening to allowing it to affect your mind?

Your tongue? - Are your words gloomy, hurtful, uncaring, or encouraging and full grace?

Your feet? - Where are you going and spending your time?

Your tummy? - Are you controlled by the desire to say "yummy in my tummy"?

These are each necessary and interesting issues to pay attention to. In my life the Lord has dealt a great deal with the issue of eating. Deciding to eat rather than to minister. Really there is a selfishness that we are all getting over each day. That is what we call 'dying to self'. The separation of our desires from our flesh and directed toward the heart of God.

So the challenge comes with piercing strength in these words:

So he died for his faith

That's fine, most of us do

But say, can you add to that line

That he lived for it too?