Laying Down My Rights...
This is a tough one for us in the western world - especially America. I was raised in the Deep South where God and Country went hand-in-hand. The teaching from early on was, "Stand up for your rights because if you don't they will be stripped away!". There is truth in that, but are God and country supposed to go hand in hand? Are my rights supposed to be as important to me as following Jesus. I don't think so. (I can already hear the groans, but please stick with me.)
As a Christ-follower, I'm supposed to look like Him. Jesus didn't "stand up for His rights" He stood up for the kingdom - that involved laying everything down.
My husband and I had a conversation on this recently, and it rings in my head every time my rights demand a say in what is going on. The nutshell version of the conversation went something like this, "If you are going to follow Christ, sometimes you are going to be a doormat." I know, I know... being a doormat is an ugly, undesirable thing, but it embodies what we are supposed to do....
- turn the other cheek
- walk the extra mile
- give over what belongs to us
- don't fight for or defend yourself
- die to self
- become less, so He can become more
All of those say the "same thing": LAY DOWN YOUR RIGHTS. It's painful I know. We want what is rightfully ours, but we (and our rights) have actually been crucified with Christ, so that He can live in us.
The life of a Christ-follower and one of someone living in the culture of today should not look the same, and it is a battle we have to fight daily to keep from falling prey to the world's demands. I just had to fight through it YESTERDAY! We all have too.
I know this sounds like a real downer, but I make no apologies. There is great reward if we stick close to him and keep ourselves from being "tarnished by the world". It is so worth it, friends.
The closer we get to Him the more we will recognize when something we desire is from us or from Him; the closer we get to Him the more like Him we will be. We have to stick close to Him to succeed; there is no hope for success without Him. We have to walk with Him EVERY SINGLE DAY. We have to make His will and plan and purpose the UTMOST IN OUR LIVES.
This year I've starting reading Oswald Chambers, "My Utmost For His Highest" again (I pick it back up from time to time), and today's said this:
"Whenever we are obstinate and self-willed and set on our own ambitions, we are hurting Jesus. Every time we stand on our own rights and insist that this is what we intend to do, we are persecuting Him."
Ouch! Hurt Jesus? The ONE who died for me so He could walk in relationship with me. O Lord, may it not be so of me!
Chambers goes on to say about "laying down our rights":
"This will mean that others may use me, go around me, or completely ignore me, but if I will submit to it for His sake, I will prevent Jesus Christ from being persecuted."
Like Jesus, we should seek perfect oneness with the Father, and the only way to do that is to lay it all down.
As I was reading this today I thought of the old hymn "I Surrender All". I've been singing it for years - I can't remember a time I didn't know that song. It struck me today though - "Have I really meant that I surrender ALL?" A lot of times I haven't, but I pray that as I continue to look more and more like Jesus that I would willing surrender all to Him.
Come on...you can do it. Lay down your rights - for Him.
Much love.
As a Christ-follower, I'm supposed to look like Him. Jesus didn't "stand up for His rights" He stood up for the kingdom - that involved laying everything down.
My husband and I had a conversation on this recently, and it rings in my head every time my rights demand a say in what is going on. The nutshell version of the conversation went something like this, "If you are going to follow Christ, sometimes you are going to be a doormat." I know, I know... being a doormat is an ugly, undesirable thing, but it embodies what we are supposed to do....
- turn the other cheek
- walk the extra mile
- give over what belongs to us
- don't fight for or defend yourself
- die to self
- become less, so He can become more
All of those say the "same thing": LAY DOWN YOUR RIGHTS. It's painful I know. We want what is rightfully ours, but we (and our rights) have actually been crucified with Christ, so that He can live in us.
The life of a Christ-follower and one of someone living in the culture of today should not look the same, and it is a battle we have to fight daily to keep from falling prey to the world's demands. I just had to fight through it YESTERDAY! We all have too.
I know this sounds like a real downer, but I make no apologies. There is great reward if we stick close to him and keep ourselves from being "tarnished by the world". It is so worth it, friends.
The closer we get to Him the more we will recognize when something we desire is from us or from Him; the closer we get to Him the more like Him we will be. We have to stick close to Him to succeed; there is no hope for success without Him. We have to walk with Him EVERY SINGLE DAY. We have to make His will and plan and purpose the UTMOST IN OUR LIVES.
This year I've starting reading Oswald Chambers, "My Utmost For His Highest" again (I pick it back up from time to time), and today's said this:
"Whenever we are obstinate and self-willed and set on our own ambitions, we are hurting Jesus. Every time we stand on our own rights and insist that this is what we intend to do, we are persecuting Him."
Ouch! Hurt Jesus? The ONE who died for me so He could walk in relationship with me. O Lord, may it not be so of me!
Chambers goes on to say about "laying down our rights":
"This will mean that others may use me, go around me, or completely ignore me, but if I will submit to it for His sake, I will prevent Jesus Christ from being persecuted."
Like Jesus, we should seek perfect oneness with the Father, and the only way to do that is to lay it all down.
As I was reading this today I thought of the old hymn "I Surrender All". I've been singing it for years - I can't remember a time I didn't know that song. It struck me today though - "Have I really meant that I surrender ALL?" A lot of times I haven't, but I pray that as I continue to look more and more like Jesus that I would willing surrender all to Him.
Come on...you can do it. Lay down your rights - for Him.
Much love.
