Tombs are for the dead

Zak, our youngest son, comes up more and more these days with profound observations which he interjects at just the right moment. It is as if he were waiting for the perfect opportunity to insert truth when it is most needed. I am learning to consult him for problems and questions. How he will be missed next year when college calls!

Following a great message from his brother Tim yesterday on Lazarus being raised by Jesus, Zak casually commented to me today that "the old nature has been crucified. It is not just alive and sitting there waiting to be summoned. It is dead." It was put to death at the cross. It no longer dominates. All of it that remains are only tendencies and deceptions which try to make us believe that the dead still live.

Romans chapter six spells this out. How familiar the text, but how slow I am to grasp it! Residual effects of the old nature are like the grave clothes of Lazarus which are to be torn away and discarded. They no longer serve any purpose. Grave clothes are not me anymore! We are alive with Christ. Why continue hanging around the tombs of sin any more? Why even visit? Why think about that from which we have been delivered? Paul said, God forbid, or why would we even want to?

I like a fresh, simple declaration of what is absolutely true. The old nature has been crucified and replaced with His divine nature, permanently. Thanks, Zak, for the reminder! We needed that!