Are we crucified with Christ?

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)

Is this true of us? Have we crucified the desires of our sinful flesh and nailed them up along with our failures and mistakes? Are we also then living by faith in Christ’s finished work rather than our own righteousness? Is our good deeds also Christ living and working in us or the efforts of the flesh? One way we will find out for sure–our own efforts will fail in a glorious fireball, crash and burn. But his work lasts and endures even in the midst of the fires of trial and tribulation. It’s in the hard times, when our strength is spent and we have nothing left of ourselves, that we learn what he’s really done in us–or rather how much we have allowed him to do in us.

Lord, we come with open hearts before you today. We thank you for loving us and giving yourself for us, so we might be set free from the bondage of sin. We pray our flesh’s sinful nature with its wicked desires would be nailed to your cross, and that it would be Christ who lives and reigns in us. Increase our faith; we put our trust in You. Open our eyes to the way you would have us go and strengthen us to choose to follow you. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.