Transparency
Part 1
Galatians 2:20
“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”
Crucifixion
In Galatians 2:20, Paul describes what it is like to live a life that vows to be completely and utterly under the Lordship of Christ. He speaks of being crucified daily and allowing Christ to sit on the throne of his heart. As Christians, reading this verse should remind us of the yoke we have freely bound ourselves to. It is a yoke that does not shy away from suffering or trials, but it is the same yoke the Lord subjected Himself to. It is a yoke that follows the heart of the Father no matter what the cost.
The term “crucifixion” is a common one to those who have grown up in a church culture. It is common to me and many in my circle. Many Christians know that theologically we are to “die to ourselves daily in order to be alive in Christ”. However, I am finding that too few truly know what it means to follow through on that saying. Myself included.
I used to believe crucifixion was my eyes gleaming as I stepped out of the comforts of my American context. I thought the words “Lord, I am willing to leave everything behind” was what it meant to be crucified. In a sense I was correct, for there will be times when the Lord asks His beloved to give something up. But, to be crucified is not always to leave things behind, at times it is also to pick up things that one would have rather left behind.
Transparency as Crucifixion
Crucifixion is allowing God to dive deep into your soul, without covering anything up. It is allowing Him to dig up all of the hurts and pains that you have tried to bury and bring them into the light where they feel most vulnerable. Crucifixion is living a life completely transparent, where on lookers can see the grace and power of God displayed through our own weaknesses. Crucifixion is allowing God to use us in the ways we dread to be used. Sometimes it is harder to look into the face of our own depravity, than it is to distract ourselves from it with superficial sacrifices. Let us not pat our backs for crucifying things that God has never asked us to crucify. Death is not a virtue in it of itself, it is only a virtue as it serves the birth of new and more abundant life.
Let us press into God and ask Him to search us for what is keeping Him from living through us most abundantly.