i want the words to say it right.

Today I sat with a friend, struggling to find a way to perfectly articulate just what I wanted to say. It was a battle to sit and listen to a detailed description of a trying situation, know the solution and then come up with the most convincing way to help them carry it out. Some decisions require a bold commitment. You must firmly walk to the right or to the left. There's no turning back. We may hurt. We may not understand what seems to be repercussions. We could allow ourselves to be arrested by blame based upon our decisions. Regardless of whatever sort of conclusions may draw from the direction we take, I believe that if it's a godly decision being led by the holy spirit, it's right.

It's incredibly difficult for me as an outsider to watch someone get beat up emotionally and spiritually when it would just take a second for them to get up and walk away from the lashings. Why in the world do we allow ourselves to be crucified by the world? The scripture in Galatians that says "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me" (Gal. 2:20) takes on a brand new meaning to me. Bear with me as I describe...

It's a significant commitment to be crucified with Christ. We will be mocked. Spit at. Scoffed at. At times I'm sure we feel the cat of nine tails grinding into our backbone, shredding our flesh and pouring out life. In thinking about this though, I would rather be crucified with Christ, knowing He lives in me and be persecuted for it than to be crucified by the world and experience excruciating pain that will not gain anything more than another gash.

I understand the hurt experienced in removing an empty, yet fulfilling piece of your life in order that Christ's spirit may live. It's like taking a bullet out of the wound and allowing it to heal. You must first have the strength to endure the pain that you will knowingly face when digging it out of the hole in your flesh. Once out, you must have the patience to allow the wound to heal. It's deep, so we want it to heal fast, but it doesn't....and the hurt experienced during the healing process is just part of the experience. In the end when it's all said and done, we look down and see that scar. Behind every scar is a story, and it's with that story that we encourage others. Better than that, we can glorify God in it remembering His faithfulness to us, in teaching us to grow.

I haven't mastered this idea of a daily crucifixion with Christ, but who has? I know that I understand it, but more importantly I just want to be able to encourage others to do it. I'm mostly concerned with them removing the bullets out of their lives so that Christ can begin the healing process and bring them to their full potential.

However eloquent or rash the words I use must be, I hope they're carried by the Holy Spirit so that it can pierce the hearts of many and begin that long, wonderful road of a crucified commitment to Christ.