As
most people within screaming distance of Evans City know, zombie horror began
in our area with George Romero’s movie “Night of the Living Dead.” So as Halloween approaches, I have a question
for you: would you rather be a zombie or a spirit?
Christians
celebrate the new life that we know in Jesus Christ. But in order to enter the new life of his
resurrection, we must first die to the old life we once knew. As Paul wrote to the Romans, “We were buried
with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised
from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life”
(Romans 6:4). Paul goes on to describe
how the death of our old life frees us from sin, which now no longer has
control over us.
And
yet we choose to live like zombies clawing their way out of the grave. The problem with zombies is that they don’t
know they are dead. They stagger around
with outstretched arms and soulless groans, trying to live a life they no
longer have. In the same way, we cling
to what we used to have and what we used to be.
We seek fulfillment and enjoyment from the activities and interests that
we had before we died with Christ. And
like zombies that can’t get enough flesh to eat, we are never satisfied.
Zombie
Christians orient themselves to the pursuits of the old life. Instead of realizing that they are dead, they
believe that they must continue to live as they had before. The only difference is that as Christians they
try to restrict themselves from the excesses of the old life by putting up
barriers and following “thou shalt nots.”
They ask “What can I keep from my old life and still be a Christian?” in
the same way that zombies try to hold onto what few faculties they have that
have survived the grave.
God
did not put us to death with Christ in order for us to be zombies. He took away our old lives because they were
destroying us, and because they would never allow us to experience the joy,
peace, and meaning that he desires for us.
The sooner we stop trying to live a life that we no longer have, the
sooner we will enjoy the new life that Christ has given us. God’s blessings come to us not as some sort
of restricted or whitewashed version of the old life, but through an entirely
new existence that basks in his love.
God
has given us a new life by filling us with his Spirit, his very presence to
empower us, to guide us, and to show us at all times that he is with us, and
that he takes great pleasure in us. The
life of the Spirit opens us to possibilities that could not be possible of even
conceivable before we died. The
always-new, always-amazing presence of God awakens in us the very essence of
our humanity, and we discover for the first time who we really are.
So
I’ll ask you again. This Halloween, and
for the rest of your life, do you want to be a zombie, or live in the Spirit?
