A Living Sacrifice: The Process Of Being Conformed Into The Image Of Christ

God desires for every believer in sweet Jesus to be in the process of conforming into the image of His Son so that Jesus might be the firstborn among many brothers. If you are still here you are still in process.  We never “get there,” so to speak, until we are at home with the Lord. John tells us that if we claim faith - if we claim to live in Him - we must walk as Jesus did (1 John 2:6). This, of course, cannot be accomplished by mere fleshly abilities – no matter how much effort we may put forth - we will always be found wanting. Besides that, no eternal work can be done apart from the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit – meaning what is accomplished in the flesh sans the Spirit will never make it through the fire that will test the quality of each man’s work. God never owns what mere man can accomplish. It is He that gets the glory, not man, because it is He who gives the power. Why would we want to waste our time on chaff or charred works?  Such a bare salvation is almost as much to be dreaded as desired. It is not a glorious thing to enter heaven as a shipwrecked mariner climbs the rocky cliffs of his native country. Adding to that, why would we want to waste our lives? They are each so precious and God has much greater plans for them than we can even imagine. And it all begins with denial of self.

In each of the four Gospels denial of self is addressed, indicative of the importance of the command. This is both for our good and for His glory. The problem with being a living sacrifice is that we all too often find ourselves crawling off the altar, Amen? We do ourselves a great favor if we learn to deny self through His power. This is the pathway to abundant life. It is the pathway of Christ Who, though God, emptied himself of all glory to become a man.  It is truly amazing that mere flesh could contain all that glory, is it not? Further, His life was a series of lowering and emptying Himself until He died on the cross for me and for you. It is important to note, we will never outgive God – as we humble ourselves He exalts just as God exalted Christ at His resurrection. Whatever measly sacrifice we may make He so abundantly blesses within us that in reality it is never really a sacrifice at all. In God’s economy humility always precedes honor.