11-02-2024 7:04pm

Strong spirits: dying and living

Photo: Ali Eminov

Once we die to this world, it is much easier to live here. Dying to this world means putting God first and making our highest loyalty to him. And it means doing that in all of the most ordinary parts of our lives.

When people approached Jesus and said they wanted to follow him, rather than saying "Great! C'mon!" he said, "Count the cost." He said, "Take up your cross." He said, "You must love me more than any other." He wanted to be sure that no one was making the decision to follow him lightly.

Sometimes we think that following Jesus means we must become a monk or a nun or a missionary to a foreign country. All it really means is that we let him live his life through us in all of the ordinary and extraordinary parts of our days. While some may be called to give up their lives for him, for most of us it means "offering our bodies as a living sacrifice" to him.

I challenge you: die to the world. Learn to live for him. And then, living in this world will be what it was meant to be.

Besides serving as pastor at Caledonia Congregational Church, Gary Schwerin is the Spiritual Development Minister for the YMCA of the Rock River Valley and Executive Director of Bridge Ministries of Rockford. Prior to launching Bridge Ministries, Gary spent many years in leadership with Young Life. His columns appear here every Sunday - to see them all, subscribe to our daily email.