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Meghan and her Israeli fiance, Ovadia, met on the mission field in Africa and are soon to be married. She is a nurse, loves traveling and photography, and is excited to embark on her own journey overseas soon. 

Live Dead.

When we hear those words, we think of the radical laid down lives that we are called to give over to our Lord.

We think of the sacrifices we will make in prayer, tears, and sweat as we live dead.

We imagine the lives, that we have given up our rights to, so that the gospel may be known across the nations.

I have been mediating on what a life truly given to Christ looks like lately, as I am in the final stages of embarking on my own journey overseas.

When we hear the words “live dead”, we often think about the hard parts. But the reality of what we must lay down so that the unreached will know Jesus is nothing compared to the many glorious promises in a life that is fully given to Him.

The reality is that when we live dead we truly live.

The world has no hold on us because we have died to it and have been made alive in Him.

After all, if we want to find our life, we must lose it. We are not swayed by the fears and temptations that once controlled our weak flesh, rather we stand up with supernatural boldness and face death with victory! When one lives dead he becomes fearless, because he is found in the life of Christ.

With the revelation that our lives are not our own, we are released from the responsibility of bringing fruit from our lives. No longer are we responsible to bring revival through our good works, but instead we lean with complete dependence upon the Cross! What an amazing exchange. We give over our weak efforts and receive an abundant harvest that is birthed from the place of intimacy with our Father.

He is Strong in Us

When I was doing missions training in Africa for 3 months, the main lesson God continued to teach me was to look beyond myself. He was trying to draw me to a place where I didn’t see my inadequacies and brokenness but rather the glory and Spirit of the Lord who empowers. When I first got there I was ready to throw in the towel; I was so weak!

But I quickly learned my qualifications had nothing to do with it.

It is a humble and contrite heart the Lord chooses to use.

In someone who has not surrendered everything, they feel the need to have the skills to end world hunger or stop prostitution, to become a missionary. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. When we lay down our lives, God uses our weak vessels to bring a move of His Spirit that is not our own.

This is when true effective ministry begins: when we step back and let God be God.

In certain religions, radicals give their lives as martyrs for selfish ambition and to destroy the lives of others. The beauty of Christ is that He calls us to be like Him and to lay down our lives so that others can know the glorious hope of the Gospel! It is such an amazing reality: love is the motivator of all things that come from God. Out of our love for God we are able to lay down our lives, look past the sacrifices, and come alive through living dead.

What a glorious opportunity we have to lay down our lives and live dead for the God of Perfect Love.

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