You have the
opportunity to be crucified with Christ but no one can force you into
this. It requires an act of the will
and the will is never taken from you by force.
Just as the spirit is unsinkable and eternal so is the will. The will can be broken and it can be
corrupted but it will never be stripped from you. Satan can touch your will but only as it
continues to be yours. You can surrender
your will but that is solely your determination. One can be born again yet fiercely cling to
the will and not let go of it. The Holy
Scripture is God's plumb line for evaluating the identity of the possessor of
the will. If I keep my will, then the
Bible will be a stern taskmaster that confronts me at every turn. I will fight over who I should forgive, how
often I will let my cheek be struck by good and bad people stew over what I
give away and the degree to which I will pray about everything with the consequence
of fretting about nothing. If I am
crucified with Christ, then my will is in His possession and His to defend and
honor. It makes no difference to the
one whose will is God's if he lives in poverty or riches, is recognized for his
accomplishments or not, has made something of his life or lost the opportunity
that was at hand. The will that has been
turned over to Christ cannot fret over tomorrow because it has no power over
him. What does tomorrow matter to the
one who given over the will to the one controlling tomorrow. The last bastion of idolatry is the
will. Jesus was able to steadfastly go
to Jerusalem where a cross awaited Him because He settled the matter of the
will…"not my will but your will be done." All internal strife, depression and
bitterness can be crucified at the point the will becomes the possession of
Christ's and is not taken back from Him.
For I have come down from heaven not to do my will
but to do the will of him who sent me.
John 6:38 NIV
