I've been thinking a lot about death lately. It's something that we were never meant to experience, but is the inevitable result of sin. "You will not surely die," says the serpent. Wisdom stands at the crossroads and shouts, "Choose life! Stay away from the path that leads to death!" Yet, so often we listen to the cunning serpent instead, believing that we will not surely die. And all may seem well at first. Yet death creeps in, and it doesn't just affect us. It affects those around us, and it affects the God who travels that path to save us from the death we brought upon ourselves.
As Christians, we are all one body. 1 Corinthians 12:26 tells us that, "If one part suffers, every other part suffers with it." We can't sin and have it only affect us. The rest of the body suffers as well, including the Head, which is Christ. Lately, I've found myself mourning the fact that I hear so many Christians saying that sin is no big deal. In John 10:10, Jesus says, "The thief come only to steal, kill, and destroy." The thief, of course, is Satan, but do we not realize that sin is how he accomplishes those three goals? That sin is responsible for all of our relational hurts and for the broken state of the world that causes other hurts? That sin is what put Christ on the cross? Or have we forgotten?
Love is what is supposed to characterize Christians. Even the world knows that. But what does that love look like? So many people seem to think that means overlooking sins and making sure people feel good about themselves. Yet, when I read the Gospel, I see nothing warm and fuzzy about the cross. Christ despised it's shame. Yes, He endured it because He loves us, but He was also fulfilling God's desire of creating a people who would wholeheartedly follow and obey God with the help of the Holy Spirit. It was to cleanse us from sin, not to permit it. Our redemption came at the greatest price that could ever be paid. How then, can we say that the very thing that killed the God we love is no big deal? And if our sin hurts God that much and hurts ourselves and those around us, how can we love the way Christ loves us without confronting sin? If sin is the problem, let's address it instead of hiding it. And let's start with ourselves. We all have fallen short and are in need of grace. Let's acknowledge that. But let us not acknowledge it and call it acceptable. Let's move foward to the healing Christ is waiting to offer.
That new life requires death. Death of things that may be dear to us. It's not easy. It hurts. It's confusing. We don't always know what God is leading us into; we can only trust that if He is leading us out of something then He is leading us into something better- out of the land of slavery and into His promised land of abundance. It's all new and we get frustrated in the pain and confusion, but if we continue to follow Him believing in His goodness, we will experience things better then anything we ever could have imagined. Most importantly, we will experience His presence. Death sucks. We will probably feel like the disciples felt after the crucifixion- like all hope was lost, fearful of their futures, wondering if they could still trust this person they'd placed all their hope in now that things don't seem to be going the way they thought they would.
And then comes the resurrection! New life arises from the grave. The old is gone and the new is here. The enemy came to steal, kill, and destroy, but Christ came so that we may have life and have it to the full, and that's what was accomplished through the crucifixion and resurrection. I recently heard a sermon where the pastor talked about Christians trying to live in the power of the resurrection while avoiding the pain and suffering of the cross. We can't do that. We have to experience death in various sorts. We have to die to our sins. It's a process and a struggle, but it's necessary and Christ made that clear. Loving God and loving others will come at a cost. It's messy. It's inconvenient. It hurts. But the fruit that it bears has no comparison. It brings joy and blessing and peace. Even experiencing God's love isn't easy when we are living in sin because many of the blessings He longs to give us can only be received through obedience. Obedience isn't something to take away our pleasures, but something that will allow us to be blessed beyond all measure. God's not trying to make us miserable; He's trying to give us better gifts than we can even imagine, but sin will steal those gifts away.
I want to live in the resurrected life, not in my old ways. I want to be restored, and I long to see the entire body of Christ restored. Just as all parts suffer if one does, all parts rejoice when one part is honored. I pray that all parts would be healed so that the glory of Christ would be seen through the church. My prayer is that the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ and nothing short of that will be lived out by the church, thus drawing others to God. May we not forsake either the crucfixion or the resurrection; may we be dead to our sins and fully alive in Christ.
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