I Die Daily
“I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.” 1 Corinthians 15:31
I was standing on a street corner waiting for someone with a donation. Waiting was an understatement. I am not a waiter by nature, and this was quite the wait. I found myself gazing over and again at some people who had gathered nearby. I try not to stare, but I couldn’t help myself. I found myself becoming engaged in bits of their conversation. And that’s when it happened. It was time for me to die again. Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? But it was entirely true.
Death is usually considered to be a one-time deal, but not when it comes to following Christ. As I stood watching these people, I felt like I could cry – for hours on end. I felt a deep, intense longing in my heart to have the lives they had. The life I always wanted. The details don’t matter, for we all have our own stories and personal longings. Suffice it to say I felt like I could weep over the fact God has called me to a life so different than theirs – and so utterly far from the life I wanted. Why? Why? Do you know what was happening? I was dying – again – as I do each and every day of my life. For the commitment to follow Christ involves the death of self, but it is not a one-time physical death. It is a daily dying of our lusts, desires, agendas, plans, self-centered dreams and selfish ways, our sins, our very flesh, and every aspect imaginable and unimaginable of our me-centered lives.
Why would anyone in his or her right mind choose to die to self? For the very reason I was reminded of when I came once again to the end of myself in those minutes of waiting and dying. Because the love, hope, peace, and joy of turning my back on my selfish desires and living for Christ and striving to fulfill God’s purpose for me on this earth while looking forward to eternity with the Lord so supersedes the grief of dying to oneself that there is literally no comparison. A little more of me died off that day, as I found myself celebrating the sheer ecstasy of the promise of eternity with God!
If you are not dying daily to self, begin this very day!