Those who live by the sword must also die by the sword, surrendering their hearts to the edge of its sharply honed blade. For those who choose to remain in this humble posture shall surely receive the ‘crown of life’.
Then it is to live as Christ that these desire above all else, thereby seeking to exemplify Him in all of their ways. As if on a quest for hidden treasure, they earnestly pursue His thoughts on every matter, choosing to dwell upon this elevated plain of divine thinking.
Therefore, to say “I follow Christ”, should denote a life that embodies His nature, where the flesh is subdued and every vain imagining is constrained. For those who are His true disciples will be of His same mind, ready to sacrifice themselves in obedience to the Father’s will, thus allowing the fine steel of His sword to cut away what is dead and corrupted: those unprofitable attitudes, ideas, and thoughts found lingering from their former self.
And so, to attain His lifestyle of servitude means traveling down a road marked with difficulty and pain, for even He, the only true Son, was not spared the agony of suffering, even to the point of death; and yet, knowing that cruelty and torture awaited Him, He still chose the more difficult path of obedience: that thoroughfare of self-denial which leads straight to the Father’s heart.
Then, since He was, and is, the living embodiment of the Godhead, it is Jesus the Christ, the Logos, who is the broadsword to which every believer must yield their lives, as it is only in Him that any of God’s children are made complete. For within Him dwells the fullness of ‘divine revelation’, as all that was and is centers upon Him, and therefore, He is the single standard to which the whole of humanity shall be judged.
Yet the furtherance of this transformative process is only found in those who willingly submit to the deeper cuts of His blade, in those innermost places of the soul where hidden sin is exposed, and where motives filled with selfish intent still persist. Although some may think they are fully purged of their sinfulness because of salvation, these have yet to truly understand what it is to undergo sanctification, and, as such, still partner with iniquitous habits and thinking that keep them bound in a perpetual state of spiritual immaturity.
However, in those who have already experienced the benefit of “submission”, the characteristics of Christ are clearly visible. For when the edge of His blade was pressed against the remnants of decaying flesh, these did not resist but underwent the pain of renewal where any leftover ‘old man’ behavior was exchanged for the new: those attitudes and thoughts that conform to the image of their Savior. Therefore, none of My Beloved, should regard the discomfort of transformation with disdain, but instead should eagerly undergo its rigors so as to quickly rid themselves of every hindrance that prevents them from becoming a fuller reflection of Christ.
So then, when the sword of Truth does its work and brings internal conviction, repent, My children, and relinquish unto Me what was hidden. For it is only by continually dying to yourselves that you can truly live.
“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to the dividing of soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” -Hebrews 4:12-13