This morning in my communion time with the Lord I finished reading Hebrews chapter 2. I was struck by the writer's preoccupation with Christ's suffering and death in verses 5-18. He tell us that:
Jesus was "crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death (v9)
"by the grace of God" he tasted death for all" (v9)
Jesus was made "perfect through suffering" (v10)
"through death he might destroy the one who has power over death (v14)
Jesus would deliver those who through fear of death were subject to life long slavery (v15)
He suffered when he was tempted (v18)
Each of these is deserving of particular attention in themselves but, together, they showed me a truth that is theological and, at the same time, practical. I would summarize it by this statement:
"The purposeful priority of suffering and death in the life of Jesus must
be modeled by His disciples as the purposeful and daily priority in our
own lives."
Jesus' life was consumed with His passions and desire to reveal and honor the glory of God. He came to suffer and to die, therefore, these two realities, as difficult as they would be (note the Savior's agonizing in the Garden of Gethsemane) dominated His thought and moments. He understood that His purpose would not be complete without death and that the glory of God, which would be magnified in the redemption of the Father's image bearers, necessitated His death. Death occupied the Savior's life.
Since being a Christian means that we are "Christ followers" we must imitate Him in every way. This can only mean one thing: death must be our purposeful priority. Not physical death, per-se, but the death of "my life" as characterized by sin and selfishness. This includes anything that and anyone who would hinder the whole of my life (actions, attitudes and affections) from being lived for the glory of the Lord.
When Paul called the Corinthians (and us) to imitate him as he imitated Christ this was not some "super spiritual" statement of self promotion. Instead, Paul is calling us to live in the ways that he lived as he followed the patterns of Christ. Paul defines what imitation to Christ meant for him (and us) in 1st Corinthians 15:31 when he exclaimed, "I die every day!" To imitate Christ, therefore, means to see death - death to sin and self - as our purposeful and daily priority.
But how do we do this? How do we die daily?
Since death to self is imitating Jesus' pattern of life it is a call to imitate the ways in which He kept death as His priority and focus. We cannot exhaust every detail of the life of Christ that would warrant discussion in this matter. I do believe, however, that there are three practices from His life that, if we discipline ourselves to imitate them daily, we will live lives that honor the Lord and bring Him glory. These practices will keep us from "drifting" (Hebrews 2:1).
1. Spend Early Mornings In Communion with the Triune God.
This was Jesus' pattern. Jesus did not simply pray and neither did He leave His time with the Lord to chance. He prioritized this important discipline by making it the first duty of the day. We see this in Mark 1:35,
"And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and
went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed."
I believe in rising early for communion with the Lord because it is the pattern of Christ and many of the men God chose to provide leadership to His people. I also practice this because I have experienced in my own life that, when one kills sleep to rise early to commune with the Lord, we kill more sins and temptations in that one blow to the flesh than we can imagine. This is because early morning communion with the Lord is a blow and message to our passions that they will not rule us. Sleep, though necessary and clearly lawful, should not dominate me (1 Corinthians 6:12).
To rise early in the morning sets the day in motion under the authority and protective power of the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. When we rise early and commune with the Triune God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) we confront the day with all of its evils (Matthew 6:13) and troubles (Matthew 6:34) strong in the Lord and in the power of His might (Ephesians 6:10).
It is clear from Jesus' practice of this discipline that He needed it to fulfill the Father's purpose for His life. He is the Son of the Living God and yet, He practiced the daily discipline of self denial and early rising not simply to pray but to submit His day to the Lord. When we enter any day and begin engaging in life and decision making without this time in and under the Word we are subject to our own thoughts and desires. Early morning communion with the Lord informs the mind with the truth, guides the affections with passion for the Lord and harnesses our attitudes with godly intentions. We cannot afford to enter this world, run by the devil without the whole of who we are saturated with and in the Lord (2 Corinthians 4:4; 1st John 5:19).
Try this discipline tomorrow by doing the following things listed below. the order is not important but doing each step is:
Reading Plan: Determine what you are going to read in the morning. If you try to do this is the morning it was be a hard morning. Pick a book to read in the Bible and simply read that book, everyday, for 15 minutes. Develop the discipline and the fruit will follow.
Wake Up Plan: Start with setting your alarm 15 minutes earlier than usual. Do not use the mantra "go big or go home" for this discipline. Trust me, if you are not doing this already, give yourself small goals one week at a time. So, 15 minutes this week and then next week push it back five minutes (get up 20 minutes earlier). It's not a race; it's a discipline and discipline take time.
Preparation Plan: Set your clothes out the night before. I promise you that if you need to figure this out in the morning you will stay in bed! Set you clothes out - socks, shoes, pants, etc. Ironed and everything. Eliminate this distraction from your morning routine and it will save you time for the Word and not be a distraction.
Bedtime Plan: Seek to eliminate distractions to sleep such as lighting, television and cell phone usage.
Family Plan: Let the entire family know of your desire so that they can be of support to your discipline.