The "Sticky" Note

The “Sticky” Note

Various scraps of paper with urgent reminders, upcoming wedding and baby shower invitations, scripture memory cards, unpaid bills, numerous to-do lists, updated and outdated gym workout schedules, and several other items are adhered to the corkboard positioned above my writing desk—the perfect spot to place those “need to find fast memos” and “don’t forget” reminders.

We all need reminders, right?

Maybe it’s just me, but it seems like I need certain truths right in front of me because I’m so very prone to forgetfulness. Therefore, near the top of my board—right at my eye level—sits an important piece of paper. Worn about the edges and pin pricked from years of moving and removing … this one is a keeper. It reads:

The Christian who knows he is
Crucified with Christ
Has no AMBITION and so has nothing to be jealous about.
Has no REPUTATION, and so has nothing to fight about.
Has no POSSESSIONS, and therefore, nothing to worry about.
Has no “rights,’ so, therefore, he cannot suffer wrong.
He is ALREADY DEAD, so no one can kill him.
By Leonard Ravenhill

Unlike invitations and to-do lists, this note will never grow obsolete and doesn’t have an expiration date. It sits waiting for those life-moments when I need a good dose of truth. Life is not about me. My life is hidden in Jesus.

If I really believe Galatians 2:20 which says, “I am crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me,” then Ravenhill’s words are spot on accurate (even if they do ring oh-so harsh to our modern, me-first mentality.)

Now that I think about it, that is one “sticky” note—a truth that I want to stick with me. I’ve found that simply believing this message can cure most of life’s ailments. Think about it, if I really believe that “I am Crucified with Christ” then half the things that bug, annoy, bother, and in general cause me to freak out, are really nothing I need to worry or to fret about at all.
The reality is this: we are hidden in Jesus…and Jesus is good. Jesus is safe. Jesus is our hiding place. We don’t need to impress others to find acceptance, we don’t need to amass wealth to feel secure, we don’t need to have power to be important…because everything we are, everything we need, and everything we long for is assured us in the Resurrected Life of Christ.

That is why we can lay everything else down and die to our fleshly desires because we trust that He has us and He is in control.

For instance, I can’t tell you the number of times that someone has said something negative about me and I have wanted to “defend” myself and God reminds me of the fact that “my reputation” is dead and I am “hidden in Christ.” He will defend me.

Or the times when I’m tempted to place too much value in the material things of this world and God reminds me that the only things that will last are those I invest in eternity.

I’m learning and need reminding daily that life’s circumstances must be filtered through the reality of who I am in Christ: the old Marian is dead and the life I now live is in Him, through Him and for Him.

I’ll be honest; I’m still very much a work in progress! Not a day goes by that I don’t feel rejected, embarrassed, overlooked, scared, or worried and need reminding of this amazing truth; hence the sticky note. Being “crucified with Christ” means dying to my selfish desires and embracing the glorious life in Christ—the life of love and selflessness that is only possible because He lives in me!

Apart from Him I can do nothing!