A Deeper Understanding of Death to Self

A Lutheran pastor friend—the Reverend Bill Vaswig—and I once were discussing Galatians 2:19 and wondering what it means to be crucified with Christ. I mean, what are we actually talking about? Bill said, “Let’s pray the passage into each other.” I had wanted to keep the discussion at arm’s length, but I gulped and said, “All right, how do we do it?” “I don’t know exactly,” was Bill’s response, “but you go first!” So I went over to him, placed my hands on his head, and began to pray. I have no idea what I said beyond the hope that he would experience what it means to be crucified with…