Lay down your life

The other day I read a verse that related to laying your life down for me.  It was of course a question that Christ asked.  After all, he laid down his life for us.  It got me to thinking and I questioned what that meant to me and what it meant in my life. 

When I read the verse my first thought was "Of course....Of course God I would lay down my life....I would ride this through the end because you are my Savior and I am committed to you" and then I gave real thought to what that verse might mean in my life.

 I thought of how quick I am to "lay down" the things that only Christ can control like life and death.  I am quick to lay down an illness or an event like the Boston bombing, 911, Hurricane Ike and such disasters.  I am quick to say "take them, manage them, demonstrate your power in this event" but I am not so quick to lay things down that are intimate, personal to me. 

There are just some things we want to hold on to!  That is not how God would have it but he is not going to snatch it from you.  He wants you to willingly lay it down.  Some of the most difficult things to lay down are relationships.  They are difficult because they deal with the heart. 

Some of us want to live our life "our way" and we feel like only we know how to best make it work. God calls us to lay down anything that will get in our way of worship and serving him.  In today's day and time there are many obstacles to that.  Fortunately, we can let them go....unfortunately, we don't.

We don't lay them down because 1) We feel like we "can't live without it" 2) we can justify their existance or our hold on them, or 3) It simply would be too painful to let go and we don't want to put ourselves through that pain.

God may also be calling us to lay down literature, movies, video games, and such things that are not glorifying to him.  I have never been one to read "romance novels" but I do like novels.  What we choose to read can give us unrealistic expectations in our own life.   It can make us long for things that are common place in a made up story but will never be in our life.  Could it be that God is calling us to lay that down and instead,  spend time in a true and uplifting stories found only in His Word.

Case in point, one day Christ is telling of his purpose and how soon he will "be with them no longer."   Peter did not want to stay behind.  He asked Jesus "where are you going" and Christ responded "Where I am going, you can not follow, but you will follow later." Peter's response to this was "Why can't I follow you now, I will lay down my life for you."  You can hear Peter's urgency in wanting to go with Christ at that moment. I have seen myself displaying that urgency many times as well.

What resonates more in my mind is the response Christ gives "will you really lay down your life for me?"

Yeah, I read that verse and was quick to say "I'll do it, I'll lay down my life and go to the death for you" but when I hear the words of Christ asking "will you really...." it strikes home.  When "laying down my life" means laying down that old life, that life not glorifying to him, that part of your life that constitues interference with a relationship with Him.  How quick am I to do that?  Christ did lay down his life, literally....what do you need to lay down  for Him and will you really do it?

My children, I will be with you only a little longer.  You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come...Simon Peter asked "Lord, where are you going?  Jesus replied "Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later." Peter asked "Lord, why can't I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you." Then Jesus answered "Will you really lay down your life for me?  John 13: 33, 36-38