“A Long Slow Death”

“Therefore, consider the members of your earthly body as dead…” Colossians 3:5

       At the risk of sounding terribly morbid, I want to spend a few minutes talking with you about the prospect of a long, slow death. Before jumping to any conclusions, however, and refusing to read further, realize I’m talking about a Biblical reality in the life of a whole-hearted follower of Christ. Consider the following:

Jesus said to the first disciples, If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me (Mt 16:24). The term used is a compound verb in the imperative; it is the Greeks way of putting something in bold-face type, underlined three or four times, followed by a whole bunch of exclamation marks!!!!!!! So, it is something really, really important that we must give our undivided attention to! To deny self means to refuse, abnegate, or disown. It is to subjugate all personal works, interests, enjoyments to another master, one outside of self who holds to key to any future fruitfulness.

Paul, writing to the Roman church, but if you live according to the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body (Romans 8:13). It is an upside down, paradox kind of life—live by the flesh and die; live by the spirit by dying to the self, and live. Paul is literally saying deliver the self over to death, kill it! The life of the Spirit has so much influence and control over your life that you are putting to death the life of the flesh. And because the verb is in the present tense, it means a continuous, habitual action, a life lived by this matrix at every breath.

Furthermore, the Apostle wrote, Therefore, consider the members of your earthly body as dead…(Colossians 3:5). Consider means “to think in such a way that you actually behave that way; put it in your mind, pull it off in your activities. Fascinating how it was written—makes for terrible English but perfect Greek. The term “death” is the first word in the sentence. First words get all the emphasis, so it would be similar to starting the sentence like this—DEATH!! DIE!! And do it immediately, right now! Make it powerless; render it impotent; deprive it of energy and vigor. He then reels off a sample list of immorality, impurity, passion, evil desires, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.

The “what” is certainly clear enough, at least I would hope so by now. Where things begin to get fuzzy is the “how.” How do I die to self? This is where I’m convinced it is a long slow death. It is more than a “once for all” decision, though decision is absolutely essential. I am not a formula guy; I do not believe that the Bible is a book about religious formulas, that if you follow step one, then steps two and three, you will automatically have this thing mastered. I do, however, believe that God simplifies instructions for us so that the truth they contain is easily understood, the divine expectation clearly applied.

First, rivet your eyes on Jesus. Here is an experiment: put on your running shoes, go outside for a jog, but with this one proviso: you can only look backwards. So, turn your head as far as you can to the side, and begin you run. On second thought, do not try it, I am not ready to meet you in the emergency room because of the inevitable fall!! You get the point I hope, it is a ridiculous thing to look backward while attempting to run forward. Some might actually call it stupid…lol. Why? Because any person in their right mind knows that you must look where you are going in order to successfully navigate the trail ahead of you.

This equally applies to your spiritual journey. Your eyes must be constantly riveted on Jesus, focused with no distractions. Reality check: any time, for any reason, you take you eyes off of Jesus you cease living in the power and might of His Spirit. Because we do not operate in a void, something comes in to fill the place Jesus occupied and inevitably it will be your “self.” Ask, how many times in one day do you suppose you take your eyes off Christ? Too broad. How many times between the moment you rise out of bed until lunch do you take your eyes off Christ? Still too broad: how many times in one hour do you take your eyes off Christ? Do you see now why I call it a long, slow death?

Frank Laubach, missionary to Muslims in remote parts of the Philippians wrote a book called The Game of Minutes in which he challenged himself to focus on Jesus for one minute. At the end of that minute, he then committed to focusing on Jesus for the next minute, and so on throughout the day. Even amid hard labor he made this little “game” the focus of his life. At the end of the first year, he rejoiced that he had focused more clearly on Christ than at any time in his life. Thus, it became the “game” he played for the remainder of his life. This is a great place to start.

Second, care for your heart. It won’t take long studying scripture to come to the realization that the heart is really the heart of the matter (sorry for the pun). Love the Lord your God with all your heart (Deut 6:4; Mt 22:37); Seek Him with all your heart (Ps 119:2); Trust in the Lord with all your heart (Prob 3:5-6); Above all else, guard your heart (Prob 4:23). Hopefully this is enough to get you thinking in this direction. Your heart is significant, a vital player in your quest to die the slow death of self to live the abundant life found in Christ. It is a heart issue; thus, you must care for your heart! Nurture it, protect it, nourish it: all this accomplished by what you set your heart on, what you put in, how you determine to live (I did say earlier you have a choice).

A third thought (and I am certain there are other pertinent things we can apply to our lives) is the necessity of spiritual community. When you purposefully live in the context of “otherness”, others centered, joining hands with like-minded travelers, self recedes into the background. Look at this joyful proclamation in Psalm 122—I was so glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.” There is something that transpires in the company of the committed that cannot happen anywhere else. This organic reality fosters life: it shows us that we have a part to play in the life and success of the organism as we “work” alongside others who are doing the same. It is spectacular to lose selfishness while becoming the self  God intended.

I think this is what George MacDonald had in mind: There is no forgetting of ourselves but in the finding of our deeper, our true self—God’s idea of us when He devised us—the Christ in us. Nothing but that self can displace the false, greedy, whining self, of which most of us are so fond and proud.

Remember with Christ all things are possible; without Christ we can do nothing. If God intends to die to self, then He has also purposed the tool necessary to make this a reality. So, keep on asking, seeking, and knocking!

Blessings on the Journey, 

Pastor Dewayne