"Are you ready to die with me?"

During Young Life camp this summer, I went to a second timers meeting, and the speaker was telling us the story of when he first started leading Young Life. This story stuck with me.

One of the other guys leading at the high school went up to him and had said, "Are you ready to die with me?"

No, no. It's not like they were sacrificing themselves.

Die as in, are you ready to put yourself aside and become 3rd in your life. To prioritize God and showing Him to these high school kids.

To be more concerned with helping them get to know Christ rather than helping them get to know you.

Last year, if someone asked me that, I would have been out of there.

Now, I'm glad to live in a way that let's God shine instead of myself. Although I still find myself struggling with pride every once in awhile. But then again, who doesn't? It's impossible to do something awesome and not pat yourself on the back and think, "Hey, I did really freaking well." It's easy to do that sometimes. Sometimes it's hard to say, "I couldn't have done it without God."

When I find myself struggling with this, with questioning why I don't live for myself, I refer back to this;

"If Christ died for you, why not live for Him?"

I don't know about you, but when I first saw that, I about peed. My mind was blown. I just thought, well, crap. You got me.

I have to admit, having to let myself DIE? What the heck. I'm only 16. Like dude, let me live a little. Didn't you die so I could do that?

Little did I know, that letting myself die is what would allow me to start living. Truly.

I no longer am drowning in guilt, I have a direction for my life and a path to follow. I'm no longer afraid of death because I know that to die is to gain. I know that all I do, all I am, is for a purpose. And it's the same for you. No matter who you are.

It brings me so much joy to say that I am second. To be able to live for God is a privilege to me. (Although sometimes I do fail at doing that.) To be able to open someone's mind to what will bring them everlasting life and joy, to realizing they're forgiven and loved, brings me such peace.

I no longer feel empty at the end of the day when I lay in bed alone with my thoughts. I no longer feel this pull of 'there's got to be something more'. I found that something more in Jesus Christ. When I Surrendered My Life (get it?) to Him, I gained everything I needed. I began to truly live.


So I want to ask YOU.

Are you ready to die with me?



"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." - Galatians 2:20

"And He died for ALL, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again" - 2 Corinthians 5:15