In the military service there is a famous old saying or command, "conquer or die". It sounds so brave, courageous, fearless and responsible; it also makes you feel full of pride, enthusiasm, peerlessness and chivalry. This is all right when you are serving in the army, especially when you are young. As you grow older, however, you may find that in many things, big or small, you are simply not able to conquer or overcome, nor are you willing to die.

Many of us who have been saved for years have such an experience. You may tell the Lord, "I love You", as Peter did in John 21:15-17. But are you sure that you love the Lord all the time? How do you love the Lord, from your whole heart and with your whole soul (Luke 10:27)? Are you ever angry with Him? Can you conquer or control your anger?

Furthermore, the Lord gives us a new commandment, that we love one another (John 13:34). Yet we always fail at this, because our love towards others is so selective. We love those whom we like, and have no love towards those whom we do not like. No matter how we try or struggle, we do not succeed. This is altogether due to our nature, our character, and our person.

In fact, many verses in the Bible seem to be beyond our reach; here are a few examples. Can you love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (Matt. 5:44)? When someone slaps you on your right cheek, can you turn the other also (Matt. 5:39)? This kind of behavior is against our human nature; nobody can accomplish it naturally. You simply cannot demand peaches of an apple tree. All these high virtues are from the divine realm. If this is the case, why then does the Lord make these impossible demands of us? Negatively, He intends to expose our disability and shortcomings, and positively, He wants to bring us to express Him by living Him out. The question here is not one of conquering or dying, but rather what kind of life we live. Only in and by His life can these things be fulfilled.

In order to live Christ, we need to be constituted in and with Him; in other words, we need to enjoy Him and take Him in every day, all the time, so that His life may grow in us. As we mature in His life, we automatically, spontaneously and organically express Him, manifest His nature, and live Him out. In consequence, we have no problem in loving one another or our enemies, denying ourselves, bearing the cross, and so on.

Saints may be scared by, or at least prefer not to hear, words like sacrifice, dying, or paying a high price to do this or that. Rather, we should encourage one another just to love the Lord, pursue Him, labor on His words, and become equipped with the truth. In short, just enjoy Him and His riches.

Bro. Joseph