Not me but Him

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."

This scripture was sent to me in reply to Practicing His Presence - Stage IV. And it is a beautiful articulation of the experience of Christ in me, and the awareness of it. But it is also a painful reminder of not only the process to get there, but the depth at which we are being called.

The process is the process of death. "No longer I who live" Paul says. Why? Because everything about him has been brought to the cross, and everything in the apostle that was not of God was crucified to death so that the character of Christ could resurrect in its place.

As I take inventory of my character, of my soul, I see plenty that remains alive and apart from the character and nature of God. As I look at the compartments or children, family, spouse, finances, job, pleasure, time, and more I see so much that is not only distracting me from the awareness of Christ in me, but dis-pleasurable to the One who made me.

Practicing the presence of God in me is easy, the removal of the distractions is the difficult part. It is this that leads me to believe monks take the easy road. To me I judge them as discovering the art of practicing His presence, but removing themselves from the distractions. Christ, for me at least, is not calling me out of the world like a monk, but rather to be in the world and yet separate.

And it is this depth of calling that is painful as well. For if we are called to remain in normal society and be a light; the depth with Christ this takes is mind boggling. Imagine going places with Christ, without judgement, without anger, without fear. Imagine living without any form of addiction. No need outside of Christ for substance, approval, significance, or any other concoction of our ego. This is the depth Christ is calling us to. The depth that "no longer I" is truly a complete and total death of our "self."

I for one have a long, long way to go. But I am thankful that as I practice His presence in me, as I make myself aware with increasing frequency, then He is guiding me to that very deep place with Him. Won't you join me in this journey?