Vital Signs: Friday, August 30, 2024

Sharing With Jesus

“You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.” - ‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭4‬:‭5‬, ‭7‬-‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

It’s one thing to share our prayers and praise with Jesus and ask him to help us in our struggles. But there is a different kind of sharing that few people sign up for. This difficult and painful kind is to share in the death of Jesus. That is what Paul is willing to do. His body could be beaten or stoned near to death, but the life of Jesus was seen through it all. Sharing in the death of Christ brings the life of Christ to those who do not believe.

May we not just be willing to die for Christ but may we start today with a willingness to live for Christ!