The Crucified Life Makes Room for the Spirit
Yesterday I argued that uncrucified Christianity is a hot mess.
As I was writing yesterday, the Holy Spirit began to speak to me a little bit about the idea that taking up our cross is the way that we make room for the Holy Spirit.
This should be obvious: Most of Galatians 5 talks about how the flesh and the Spirit are at war with one another within us. Paul goes on to say that those who belong to Jesus “nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there,” (Galatians 5:24).
If you go back and read Galatians 5, Paul is almost circular in his reasoning: “Let the Holy Spirit lead you. Then You won’t desire the things of the flesh. But you have to have crucified your fleshly desires. So walk in the Spirit.” As you read it, you see this divine cycle where we both get help from God and we partner with God in this fight against our uncrucified selves.
My point is this: Taking up our cross opens a realm of activity for the Spirit. It’s not an accident that Jesus’ death on the cross opened up Pentecost for the early church. So if we desire greater activity of the Holy Spirit, we have to (by His help) appropriate the crucifixion in our own lives.
Friends, I am about as charismatic as they come. I desire more of the Holy Spirit moving and operating in my life. But there is some of the flesh, some self-glorification, some level of selfishness that has tainted much of the Spirit-empowered work at least in many parts of the world where I have witnessed it.
But I have also seen parts the work of the Spirit where people are laying down their lives for Jesus and the Gospel. In these places, the men and women have a purity like I haven’t seen. They aren’t flashy. The Gospel spreads. Miracles are common and Jesus is glorified. And this is what I’m hungry for in the West. Not just miracles. The fullness of the Holy Spirit that comes when we lay our lives down.
Today, I’m sort of just ranting. But I hope I’m right about this reality and I hope we all together can pursue this and encourage others, so that more and more of the church can be swept up into this reality.
Uncrucified Christianity
Jesus said that if we wanted to follow him we would have to deny ourselves, take up our crosses, and follow Him (Mark 8:34). But often we are content to settle for uncrucified Christianity–a kind of Christianity that requires little and caters to us.
Uncrucified Christianity is the source of a lot of pain and frustration in the body. It causes us to see everything that God is doing through the lens of how it benefits us. It paralyzes us in our spiritual growth. It makes us ingrown and not outward focused.
You see uncrucified Christianity all around you.
People who get excited about the prophetic promise of a spectacular ministry but never want to serve.
People who want community but never want to share someone else’s burden.
People who love Jesus but never share the gospel.
People who love Jesus but can’t be bothered to be part of a community of people who challenge them in love.
In short, uncrucified Christianity is a hot mess.
There is an answer, but it’s not fun. We all have to go back to Jesus and acknowledge that Christianity is not about us. Once we received the Kingdom of God, this became about Jesus and the Good News.
Jesus said:
“If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.”
Mark 8:35
Most of Christianity is trying to find their life. But every attempt, no matter how noble looking on the outside, that is not us denying ourselves, picking up our cross, and following Jesus will inevitably end up with us losing whatever sense of fulfillment we are looking for. Even if we are seeking for it in spiritual environments.
But friends, if we give our lives away for the sake of Jesus and spreading the gospel, we will find more life than we know what to do with. And it will transform everything we do from a selfish expression looking to boost ourselves into a spiritual expression backed by power from heaven.
That means we need to go back to the cross. Lay our pursuits there at its feet. And wait for God to tell us what to do next.
God, save us from uncrucified Christianity.
Sing
A year ago someone came up to me and shared with me that they felt the Lord loved it when I sing to Him.
This wasn’t terribly surprising because one of the ways I consistently have met the Lord in my past is through song. I’m not a terribly good singer. I can’t plan an instrument. I just meet the Lord when I sing from my heart.
So as this year came to a close, it was with a little bit of regret that I realized I hadn’t done more singing to Jesus in my time alone with Him. I even started joking with the kids about how I was going to pick up playing a ukulele. Did I mention I didn’t own a ukulele?
So it was funny to me at Christmas that my wife “just so happened” to get me a ukulele for Christmas. Maybe it’s time I start singing again.
I think one of the things if we move out of showy Christianity into any of the more missional and house church elements of our faith is a temptation to believe that our songs are a show meant to draw others to a meeting. Really our songs are meant to draw us to God.
Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts.
-Ephesians 5:18-19
There is a place where we are so filled with the Spirit that we overcome our inhibitions about how we look and what people think of us and we sing. It is to the Lord (not to men) and it happens in the arena of our hearts.
This next year, I want to find that place again. I hope you’ll join me.
Related:
Photo Credit: Sing for Hope by Caterina Guidoni
Cluster Map
Pursuing Glory 