Resurrection Life

"I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of His resurrection and participation in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead."
‭‭– Philippians 3:10-11 NIV

A few years ago, I was talking with a friend and mentor who shared with me a thought that has stuck with me to this day. He said, "We all want the resurrection life that Jesus offers, but we often don't want to follow him into the grave." It can be so easy to forget that being a follower of Jesus means following in His footsteps in every way. The new life and relationship with God that is offered through the person and work of Jesus is everything to a believer. However, a full understanding of the resurrection knows everything that comes back to life must first die. And so with us. In fellowship with Jesus, day-by-day, hour-by-hour, moment-by-moment, we are called to die to ourselves. God asks us to surrender our plans, our comfort, our hopes, our security and every part of our lives as we follow in the footsteps of Jesus. This is exactly what Jesus did for you and me!

It's only when we completely surrender and lose ourselves that we increasingly find the resurrection life, joy, hope and peace that Jesus offers. This is not a decision that is made once, but many times over and over as we are reminded of the Gospel – and it changes our hearts.

What in your life is God asking you to increasingly surrender to Him today?