Crucifying the Flesh

   Now there's a happy title for you!

   This is a topic I think is probably about as misunderstood as any in this Christian life.  I'll use the following verses to illustrate what Jesus tells us to do in this regard.

Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.  For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (Matthew 16:24-25, ESV)

   There are other verses similar to this about laying down your life for Jesus.  The most compelling and dramatic imagery Jesus evokes in them is this act of taking up your cross.  Just as Jesus did before he died, we are called to take up our cross - to head toward our crucifixion.  Athough we do not have to endure the painful, physical suffering that Jesus endured, the death of the flesh is intended to be every bit as significant.  And the death of the flesh, of the physical body, is significant because in this death we find the life of the Spirit.  By choosing to be crucified alongside Jesus, we will find life in and with him.
   Here is a dangerous interpretation of taking up our cross: that this means a kind of "self-immoliation", or self-flagellation; that it means we are to control ourselves by our own effort.  It may seem that way.  After all, the decision to take up one's cross is an act of the will.  Surely this admonition of Christ is one of self-denial, one of individual effort.  But the problem with this interpretation is that it comes back to us: we are the ones who keep ourselves pure, who practice self-denial in an effort at purity.  While we have a hand in it, we have no power outside of the Holy Spirit.  We cannot deny ourselves by ourselves.
   This is not a small nit to pick.  Part of what we take up when we take up our cross is the realization that we need Jesus if we're going to deny the flesh.  What Jesus wants us to have crucified is not just the sinful nature of the flesh, but the controlling nature of the flesh.  He wants us to allow our will to be crucified.  He wants us to let our effort die.
   Here then is the most important thing that can be crucified in us: our best efforts.  While we thought Jesus was asking us to try really hard, we overlooked the fact that he wants us to crucify the effort of trying really hard, too.  You see, the Lord wants our hearts.  It's not enough for us to deny the urges of the flesh if we won't give over our hearts, because that belief we have about ourselves that we can overcome the flesh is also a part of our flesh.  When we deny God full access to our hearts, we superimpose our will over His.  When we believe that we can perfect ourselves by denying the flesh, we deny God the power to renew us.
   One objection I can foresee to this interpretation is the objection of the hard-triers, and it is not an unreasonable objection.  The hard-triers will note that acts of the will are important.  After all, it is an act of the will to believe in Jesus and be saved.  Faith is an act of the will.  And the process of sanctification, the growth that comes through walking with God, will surely both produce and require self-denial.  Paul essentially points out that, just because we are forgiven of sin, this doesn't mean we should continue to sin.  On the contrary, we should strive to be righteous because of our forgiveness.
   My answer to this objection is a squishy one, but it is my sincere opinion that most of what God says is squishy to us because we are not like Him.  If you have given God your whole heart, and you have the same unction to perfect your flesh, by all means continue.  Because you've already given God what He wants anyway: your heart.  And the thing is, once you've given your whole heart to God, you want His righteousness, too.  You want to please Him, to be like His son Jesus.  Does that mean that you won't screw up?  No.  You will screw up.  Let me repeat: you will continue to fall short.  And that is why the blood of the Lamb of God covers all sin.  And that is also why God wants your heart and not just your effort.
   This is the squishy answer to so much that we ask: love the Lord with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength.  Here is a second squishy answer: love your neighbor as yourself.  And this is how we crucify the flesh: we get into the heart of God and go after Him like nothing else; we deny our ability to try really hard and accomplish anything; and we love as deeply and thoroughly as we possibly can with the Father as our only source of power.