Perpertual Death

 I was recently listening to Richard Rohr in an online course that I downloaded.  He used a phrase that has stayed with me since.  He was speaking of Jesus command that we have to die to live.  It is in the gospels multiple times and can be confusing or misunderstood.  He made the statement that as Christians were “perpetually dying”.  It reminds me of the scripture that adds the word “daily” after this command.  It is the ego self that drives the insurrection against your decision to die to self.  The ego wants to live and fights the spirit for rule.  The false self that depends on the ego will tell you all the reasons that surrendering your will to God is a bad idea.  All the fears that haunt you and motivate your creation of masks in the first place will make a full-scale assault on you.  If you listen to all the noise and interference you will never commit to voluntarily giving up control.  The false self and the ego will always demand control.  Your false self truly believes that only you can be trusted to control your surroundings.God created you and knows that with his help you can be restored.  It requires that you “perpetually die” to your will, your desires and your whole self.  The promise is that you will gain your life if you do this.  

The true self can express itself when you kill the sources of the false.  It can thrive in the soil of God’s love and acceptance.  The true self has room to experience its full expression when choose to allow him full control.  This control is never perfect.  That is why we die daily.  It is a choice to surrender our self to Him every day.  To surrender to your creator is the most logical and safe choice.  The belief that somehow you can do better than he can is ridiculous.  Remember that when you hear the lies from the deceiver.  Trade your masks for His reality.  He will reveal aspects of the real you a little at a time.  Through that relationship with him your identity and purpose will gradually become clear.  But it is an everyday decision to die “perpetually” to who you have created to embrace who He created you to be.  Do it today and every day!  It will give you life and life more abundant.