Losing Myself to Find Myself

How to Live Life the Way God Intended

The more we let God take us over, the more truly ourselves we become...

It is when I turn to Christ, when I give up myself to His personality, 

that I first begin to have a real personality of my own.

C.S. Lewis

Wow!  I was first introduced to this C.S. Lewis quote when reading one of the final chapters in the book, Guarded by Christ:  Knowing the God who Rescues and Keeps Us, by Heather Holleman - a book I mentioned in a recent post, Looking for Peace in all the Wrong Places, as the book I've been waiting for my whole life, besides the Bible of course.

I found this concept so profound.  The more I let God take me over, the more truly myself I become.  By turning to Christ and giving up myself to His personality it is then that I will first begin to have a real personality of my own...   

I LOVE THIS!  Our true identity is in Christ Jesus so it would stand to reason that when we turn to Christ and give up ourselves to His personality that indeed we truly become ourselves and begin to  have our own real personalities, the personality of Christ.

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. 

And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, 

who loved me and gave himself for me.

Galations 2:20

Living for God and Not for Man

The author of Guarded by Christ shared a practical exercise to help her truly crucify the flesh and "keep in step with the Spirit".  She would confess those behaviors and attitudes which stemmed from her sinful nature and asked Jesus to once again empower and direct her by the Holy Spirit.  She shared a litany of besetting sins that plagued her  - besetting sins that I could relate to and I'm sure you could too.  She called this list of sinful characteristics her "false self" and as such learned to confess them when they reared their ugly head and to reorient herself to a Spirit-directed life.  She said that she "exchanged this broken down, hopeless soul for a new life in Christ.  He's living in  my soul, and by faith, this is happening all day long.  I don't have to live this day on my own, because Jesus is living it through me.  I think of my soul as crucified with Christ, I think of how I'm now alive in a different kind of way...I think of now being alive to Christ and not myself."

Yes!! And Amen!!!

The crucified life is truly the abundant life Jesus desires us to live.

I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

John 10:10

How God Wants Us to Live

I confess that the crucified life seemed to me a life filled with sacrifice and suffering.  Sacrificing the "things I wanted to do" and suffering because of self-sacrifice.  How utterly sad...  Jesus sacrificed Himself for me, yet I don't want to give up those fleeting pleasures of life!   I can't believe I'm sharing this ugly truth about myself... but I needed to share this warped thought process so that you would fully understand the absolute freedom and release from bondage I now feel  as I understand what it truly means to live the crucified life - the abundant life.

Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.  

For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.  What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world yet forfeit their soul?  

Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?

Matthew 16:24-26

Indeed, the crucified life is one that allows God to completely take over and do anything He wants with us...

But God, being rich in mercy and love, will never do with us that which brings harm, but only that which speaks of Divine Love through and through.

I spoke more about this aspect of the abundant life in last week's post The Circle of Comfort.

Heather shared in her book that "living a crucified life is a daily choice to let Jesus take over every part of you, including your desires and dreams.  It includes telling Jesus each new morning that you belong completely to Him to use as He pleases.  It involves yielding your right to yourself and giving authority to Jesus."

Heather went on to say that, "we don't need to be scared or somehow concerned that we are giving up a better life to follow Jesus, but that we gain our real lives when we deny it for Christ."  

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.

John 14:6a

so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

1 Timothy 6:19b

How to Live for God Every Day

The only time we truly live is in Him.

I need to let that sink in...

To live is Christ Philippians 1:21

I must let go of everything false in my life, that which is not based on Truth...

Let go of those things that I think bring true happiness and peace...

Let go of the desires of the flesh

Let go of vanity and false personas

Let go of self

For it is through the very things I am holding on to for life that cause me to not truly live! And frankly, I feel it...

Of late I just feel like I am wasting the life God gave me.  And at my current age, that is pretty significant.  I have been feeling unhappy, discontent and depressed.   I am certainly not redeeming the time.

Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk, 

not as unwise but as wise,

 redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 

Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.…

Ephesians 5:15-17

But I have now learned that in letting go and truly crucifying that which is false in my life, I truly gain everything!

I gain true contentment, happiness and peace

I gain the desires of the Spirit

I gain my real personality, Christ's personality

I gain my real self, hidden in Christ Jesus

I gain abundant life!

May we all let go of that which is false in our lives to gain that which is True - the abundant, joy-filled, God-Glorifying, crucified life.

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