As Christians, we live paradoxically by giving up our lives to receive it. Ostensibly, this may seem counterintuitive to those gazing from the outside, but the reality is that while we bid others to come and die to themselves for the sake of Christ, we are at the same time bidding them to go and live for the first time. We are calling them to higher rewards by giving up smaller satisfactions. We were bought with the price of blood, and therefore we are not our own. And while Jesus bids all people to come and see, at some point, he bids them to go and die- and this is the paradoxical Christian life: to give up your rights to receive freedom and blessing.
Give up the Right to Your Body (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
God is honored or profaned by how we use our bodies. The question is, will I serve my body (that does not belong to me) or will I use my body to serve God (who has rightful claim over my body). When we serve our flesh, we live in a hostile mode to the Spirit of God, but if we live according to the Spirit, then we inherit blessing that is beneficial to us, and for everyone who is impacted by our presence.
Give up the Right to Your Mind (2 Corinthians 10:5-6)
“Take every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Cor 10:5 ESV). Our minds wield striking power. To honor God, we must let him renew our minds. We must think as Christ thought, and we must put into effect Paul’s exhortation to set our minds on heavenly things. Because, it’s those who place their minds on things above who have the most impact here on earth, and those who have mastery over their thoughts that subsequently live out of a posture of healthy leadership and blessing toward others.
Give up the Right to Your Heart (Jeremiah 17:9)
Our hearts are darkened, little idol factories that stray us away from God. We must not love anyone or anything more than Christ. If the answer to the question “Who and what are you living for?” is not clearly “Jesus,” then our hearts are divided, and we do not truly believe in Him. Our first and greatest passion must be Jesus, and our first relationship must be between God and us. I fear this is where so many will fall short. While so many know the right things about Jesus and even may believe them, their hearts have failed to connect with Jesus, and he will say to them, dreadfully, “Depart from me, I never knew you.” (Matt7:21)
Give up the Right to Your Namesake (John 3:30)
Naturally, we want to be worshiped. We want others to love us. We love being liked, and we hate it when others disagree with us. We want our name to be exalted and esteemed, acclaimed and celebrated. We want to live extraordinary lives to be respected in our town by those we think are essential. But it is not our name that we must lift high. It is the name of Jesus that must increase in our lives while ours must be put to death. In as much as he lives in us will his name be celebrated and proclaimed with our lips- and a high view of self only fosters a low opinion of Savior. Our names will not be remembered, but the name of Jesus will be worshiped forever.
Give up the right to follow your dreams (Philippians 1:21)
We’re in hot pursuit of making our dreams come true. Too often, we’re dizzy-eyed for marriage, kids, houses, and jobs, but these pale in comparison to the eternal treasures that are found in Jesus. He is our dream. We must dream of how we’ll serve him and love him. We must dream about inviting others to know him. We must dream about being with him and being fully known by him. We must dream about the day he will make all things new and gather those who belong to him. He is our dream because he is our treasure and our reward. He is our dream because nothing else to us is more valuable or irreplaceable.
The paradox now is this: that each aspect of our lives we give up, we receive much higher rewards in return. A new body will be ours, one not perishable but imperishable. A new mind will be ours, one with no temptation but perfect clarity and purity. A new heart will be given to us, one entirely in love with God, and from it will flow inexpressible joy and fullness. A new name we will worship, one worthy of the most considerable praise from everything in creation.
At last, a new dream will be realized- God plans to renew everything under his creation and reconcile everything back to Him. This will be a day where God and his people will live perfectly in tune with each other in a relationship that will radiate arresting love and satisfaction. God will have absolute rule over his people. His Kingdom will have come fully, and finally, He will be ours, and we will be His.
