Letting Go

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in Me.  The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).

As I write this devotional my mind wanders (it often does) to that story about a monkey who reaches into a tight opening in a jar for some peanuts. Then, placed before the monkey, a banana sits within reach, but the monkey won't let go of the peanuts he is holding in his tight grip to take the appealing banana. What frustration! I find myself to be alot like that monkey (no jokes here) in that I see the appeal of the Christian life but want to hold on to the life I have now. Oh, I am willing o relinquish my sin yet find myself unwilling to change the way I am looking at things. This thing, being born of the Spirit (John 3:5-8) has deep implication; I must let go to be able to take hold, and that is the relinquishing of all my pretence. I give Him my goodness, my honesty, and my endeavors and I find that this is not what He wants.  What our Savior wants is our real sin for that is all that He can take from us and then after taking our 'real' sin he exchanges it for "real' righteousness.  Here is the hard part; we must relinquish all pretence of being anything, of being worthy of God's consideration.  This is the first step.

Then the Spirit of God will show us what there is of us that needs further relinquishing. I must then relinquish my claim to my right to myself in every part of my life. The question then, is: am I willing to relinquish my hold on all that I possess, my hold on my affections, my hold on everything, and then become identified with the death of Jesus Christ?  There will be pain, disillusionment as we go through the process for we will become face to face of who we really are and see ourselves as the Lord sees us.  It is not the abominable sins that shock Him, it is our pride, that awful nature that sets our hearts against Jesus.  When we finally see this, then the shame and the horror, the desperate convictions comes home.

I am up against this, the question of relinquishing myself.  Are You?  After going through the crisis of relinquishing then we will become fit for all the God requires of us. We do not know the plans God has for us, but we do know this, His plans are the best for our lives. The final question is: are we going to be like the monkey that is staring at the delicious banana but won't let go of the peanuts?

Daily Prayer:

Father, with your help I can become what You want me to be. I cannot do this alone, I need your help so come Holy Spirit into my life. Forgive me for all that I am holding onto that is keeping me from being completely Yours. You put flesh on to save me and I want to put on the Spirit that has given me rebirth.  Thank you for Your patience with me and for not just requiring but willing to assist me in my growth and walk presenting to my world You, Jesus, the hope of Eternal life.                                Amen