By Sheryl Boldt
Of all the ladies I cared for as a private caregiver, Bee was one of my favorites. I loved so many things about her, including her melodramatic manner. When Bee experienced a troubling symptom (that may or may not have indicated something serious), she’d let out a heavy sigh and say, “Well, if I die, I die.”
Bee wasn’t afraid of dying, but she dreaded the dying process. She, like most of us, hoped that when her time came, she’d die peacefully in her sleep. At 97 years of age, with her great sense of humor and classy never-ending zest for life, Bee didn’t want to suffer a long, lingering death.
I’ve often thought about how much I relate to Bee’s attitude about dying – but in a spiritual sense.
Sin can take such control over our lives. Besides the consequences we ourselves face due to our sinful choices, how many people do we hurt along the way? When we finally decide to forsake sin or an unremitting temptation, we undergo a season (sometimes a long, drawn-out season) of suffering until we finally die to that desire or behavior. But once we die to behavior that isn’t God-honoring, like addictions, sexual immorality or even a “lesser” sin like gossip, we’re able to rise to a different way of living – a much more satisfying way of living. A life that resembles Christ’s nature.
Romans 6:5 (ESV) reminds us that when we die to our sins and trust in Jesus’ death as payment for our sins, we’ll experience the power of His resurrection. “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.”
During this week, and every week after, would you consider confessing to God (Who powerfully loves you) a specific area you’re struggling with and ask Him to help you to die to it? To help you separate your sinful passions from your heart that passionately desires to be like Christ? To give you a glimpse of what a resurrection life looks like?
Dying to bad habits or sinful behavior (that, if we were honest, we love) is painful. Thankfully, it doesn’t have to be a long process, especially when we share our struggle with an accountability partner or small group. These people will help us keep our eyes on our Savior, even when all hell breaks loose. A marvelous bond forms when you partner with others who also want to live strongly for Christ.
What one sin or bad habit will you ask God to help you with this week? What sin will each of us finally put to death with the power of the living Christ Who dwells within us? What destructive habit will we overcome in Jesus’ name so that we can experience the kind of resurrected life we’ve read about in the Bible or heard testimonies about at church? Surely these areas of our life aren’t worth even a fraction of the joy we will experience once we do.
If we die, we die. But once we’re truly dead to that sin, we are truly alive.
Sheryl H. Boldt writes fiction and non-fiction for children and adults. Her weekly devotions have appeared in newspapers across the South since 2014. She is also the author of the blog, www.TodayCanBeDifferent.net. Connect with her at [email protected].
