Day 318/365- Galatians 2:20-21

"The Original Zombies"

My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die. (Galatians 2:20, 21 NLT)

Are Christians living or dead? Yes. Christians are the original zombies. I do not mean this sacrilegiously or flippantly. But being dead & alive at the same time, like zombies, is probably the closest thing to what a Christian really is. (Minus the whole eating other people thing).

See, we are dead. We have been crucified with Christ. You don't walk away from crucifixion. You die. End of story. And this is what Jesus meant for us when he told us that to be his disciples we must "Take up our cross & follow him." It's what he also meant when he said, "If anyone would save their life they must lose it."

So we are dead. We have died with Christ. Our old self is no more. That person is gone. This should be reflected in how we live our lives. We should be less attached to the values of this world because we have died to it. We should be less attached to our rights because we have died to them. We should be focused on being citizens of another country & its values while living as aliens here. We are dead. This is what it means to follow Christ.

But we are also alive! See, Zombies. I told you! Paul here in Galatians 2 says he is dead but he is also alive. "But Christ lives in me" he says. "And this life I live in the body..." So, we are dead & alive...at the same time.

We have died to us. We have died to our old selves. We have been crucified with Jesus. The old way of living is no more. The old me is gone, forever. And yet I live anew. Better yet, Christ lives in me & through me. He is my life! He is my identify. He is my everything. The life we now live here is about him, his values, his kingdom, & our citizenship in his country.

Do our lives reflect this living/dying reality? What do we need to die to today? What do we need to live to today? Zombies! I told you it was true!