Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
If you could have one verse of Scripture engraved onto your tombstone, what would it be? Or if you could have one verse and only one scripted and framed to hang in your living room or kitchen, which verse would you choose? Or, to put it a little differently, if someone were to write a biography of your life and put one verse on the title page, what verse would best summarize your aspirations and experiences as a Christian? Out of the 31,102 verses in the Bible, you’d have a hard time coming up with a better choice than Galatians 2:20.
Several years ago, I claimed this as my “life verse”—a passage of scripture that could serve as a sort of “True North” for my life. It contains both statements of fact as well as statements of direction:
FACT: I have been crucified with Christ…my sin debt has been paid in full.
FACT: The “old” Steve is dead…a “new creation” has been born.
FACT: Christ has taken up residence in my heart…He never leaves nor forsakes.
FACT: The Son of God died for me…proving his deep and eternal love for me.
DIRECTION: I can battle through this present life and find victory by acting on my faith in Him which has been established by the FACTS listed above.
Spurgeon explained it more eloquently when he said, “…the apostle of the Gentiles delighted to think that as one of Christ’s chosen people, he died upon the tree in Christ. He did more than believe this doctrinally, however; he accepted it confidently, resting his hope upon it. He believed that by virtue of Jesus Christ’s death, he had himself paid the law its due, satisfied divine justice, and found reconciliation with God.” It’s an amazing thing to consider…being reconciled to God by the love and sacrifice of another. It reduces my pride down to nothing and fills me with a gratitude that drives my life each and every day…when I allow it to do so.
The 19th century Scottish minister, Alexander Maclaren, concluded his sermon on Galatians 2:20 writing, “The life that I live in the flesh is poor, limited, tortured with anxiety, weighed upon by sore distress, becomes dark and gray and dreary often as we travel nearer the end, and is always full of miseries and of pains. But if within that life in the flesh there be a life in faith, which is the life of Christ Himself brought to us through our faith, that life will be triumphant, quiet, patient, aspiring, noble, hopeful, gentle, strong, Godlike, being the life of Christ Himself within us.”
I pray that today—and every day—you will choose the latter rather than the former. It has already been secured for you…and lives within you. You simple have to act on it in faith.
