During my daily devotions, I was reading a chapter in Galatians. One particular verse stood out to me. In the scripture was the phrase, “Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified”. Wow! So, today I’d like to pose a question. Has your interest in the world (and the things of the world) been crucified on the cross?
Before answering that question, let’s break down what it truly means. Crucified in its simplest form means to be put to death. By now, you know that I love looking up words in the Greek. In doing so, we understand the original message of the writer. The Greek phrase for “has been crucified” is the word estaurōtai. It means to impale on the cross; to extinguish passion or selfishness. This is amazing! The scripture is literally saying that our love/ passion for this world, our selfish ambitions has been nailed to the cross. Those worldly desires are dead. The cravings are dead. Not only are those things dead but they are also buried. That life is passed away. We are now risen in Christ and made new. And it doesn’t stop there. The same power that rose Jesus from the dead is within us. It empowers us to live a lifestyle without sin. So, we are now able to say no to the pull of the world. We can resist the desires of the flesh.
So, I’ll ask the question again. Has your interest in the world been crucified on the cross? The closer our relationship with Jesus the less our appetite is for things of this world. We’ve been set free from the burdens of sin, but it’s our responsibility to stay free. Continue to press into God’s Word. Pray in the Spirit daily. When we do this, we’ll find that it will be easier to resist temptation. The things of this world will be dead to us.
Scripture Reference:
Galatians 6:14 New Living Translation (NLT) “As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died.”
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