Live! And Let HIM Live!!!

"This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses." Acts 2:32

When I was writing yesterday's entry, a phrase jumped out at me, right off the computer screen, back into my heart! Rang true! And I knew! This is the entry for Easter Sunday's blog! "Live! And LET HIM LIVE!"

Oh! Where to begin? He is RISEN! That means HE IS ALIVE! He was once dead, but NOW IS ALIVE! And RISEN! He was once crucified, not because of anything He did or deserved, but because He willingly gave His life for us, as payment for OUR sin. (The payment for sin is DEATH!) But NOW, HE IS ALIVE! Forever more! Praise His Holy Name!

But...what are WE, as His children, DOING about it? Are WE living!?!? Truly LIVING! And furthermore, are we LETTING HIM LIVE through us!??! Ahh. This is definitely a good question.

Galations 2:20 says, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." When we accept God's gift of salvation, we are now identifying ourselves with the Passover Lamb, Who takes upon Himself our sin...we are saying, "I am dead to sin." The new life we now live is not for ourselves, is not to feed the old sinful nature, but to feed the new nature, which is Christ's! We LIVE because HE lives. But our desires now change. As I posted a few days ago in "How Much Do You Weigh," our old nature is to die daily.

Are we really letting Christ live in us? Do we have the mind of Christ? "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 him 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." (Phil. 2:5-8) Are we being a servant of Christ, by serving others? Are we being obedient unto death--the death of SELF?

When we ARE, then we are letting Christ LIVE in and through us. When we ARE NOT, then, it's as if our sinful selfish natures are living, and we've essentially said, "Christ is not living in me!" What kind of testimony is this to our neighbors and family? We need to be careful, when we proclaim,"Christ Lives!" We must not simply proclaim that with our mouths, but also with our LIVES...oops..not OUR LIVES anymore---but HIS LIFE in and through us.

Oh Dear Father, thank You for the resurrection POWER of Christ. Because of His victory over sin and death, we may now LIVE! But help us to always remember our sinful, selfish natures are supposed to be dead, crucified and buried! Just like when Christ arose on that first Easter morning, HIS NATURE is supposed to ARISE within me! May the resurrection power of that first Easter Sunday pour over our hearts this Easter and bring forth HIS LIFE within our hearts! May others not only HEAR the voices of thousands of Christians proclaiming, "He LIVES!" today, but also SEE HIM LIVING in our hearts by our actions! Please enable us to LIVE and LET HIM LIVE from this day forward! In Jesus' Name we pray, Amen!