2 Timothy 2:11-13 – “This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him.  12 If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us. 13 If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.” NKJV

Let me explain my title.  We want “half” of this statement, not the whole enchilada.  We want to live with Christ but not die with Him.  We want to reign with Him but not endure or suffer with Him.  We want Him to be faithful even though too often we are unfaithful.  We want to be able to do warfare as a Soldier of Christ but not “endure the hardship” of a good soldier. 

We become so entangled in the affairs of this life that we fit the old song of Tennessee Ernie Ford – “Sixteen Tons.”  We owe our souls to the company store. Through our “entanglement with the affairs of this life,” we have virtually become slaves to the system rather than those who can and will follow Christ anywhere, anytime, under any conditions.  Too often, it is “I owe, I owe, I owe, so it’s off to work I go.”

Dying with Jesus is not a physical death in the cessation of life as we know it but a dying “spiritually.”  It is the dying to self and the crucifixion of the old nature that we have a problem with.  We do not like it because it is hard and requires commitment and discipline.  It requires humility and often involves self-effacement. 

But, if we “die with Him,” we will “Live with Him!”  We enter the “newness of life” and find access to the Abundant Life He promised.  The end product is well worth the getting there, but too often, we are half-ers and only want the end result without the process or the pain.

Enduring with Jesus is easily one of the most difficult things we will encounter as Christians.  It is hard to endure when retaliating or running for cover would be easier.  Yet, the message is clear: if we “endure,” we will Reign with Him!  We will walk as Overcomers in this life and see the fulfillment of the promise of Scripture that “as He is, so are we in this world.” (1 John 4:17). 

Enduring is never easy, has never been easy, and will never be easy, but if our eyes focus on the prize of the high calling in Christ, “endurance” is not only a possibility but a probability for the believer!

Too often, we fail to understand that “denying Him” goes far beyond denying that He is the Christ and rejecting our faith.  Remember that Jesus told us that as much as we did “good things” to the least of these, we did them unto Him. 

Our insensitivity to the needs of others, our callousness, our lack of the demonstration of grace, judgmentalism, and self-centeredness are methods through which we “deny Him.”  If we deny Him – He will Deny Us!  He told us that if we deny Him before men, He will deny us before the Father.  What could be worse?

Too often, we are unfaithful, but He is Always Faithful.  We are unmerciful, but He is Always Merciful.  We are sometimes unloving, but He is Always Loving. We fail, but He does not.

So instead of being a half-er, be one willing to die with Christ, as painful as that may be.  Be one who will endure with Him and suffer hardship as a good soldier when it is required.  Refuse to deny Him in word or deed, and know He will never deny us.  Refuse to be faithless or unfaithful, and rest in His Faithfulness!  He is our Hope!

May God be with you as you go through your day!