recalled to life

                                    

  'what's a resurrection man, father?...has to do with diggin up bodies, don't it?'

 i find it amazing that we've been given hope, a new life, new purpose, new vision, a new man.  that we've been chosen, greatly loved.  yet, at the first trip from satan that sends us sprawling face to face with the fresh grave of our old man, we lose sight; and if you struggle with pride as i do, then your first impulse is not to look away, but to look deeper.  for we see ourselves, our corpses lying there and are appalled.  we think 'surely that's not me.  i know i can't be as ugly and repulsive, so eaten with that sin cancer for me to be as bad as all that.'  so we become discouraged, and again pride refuses to yield and we begin digging, searching to find something redeemable in the filth, attempting very hard to perceive ourselves as a little less bad.  'if this is me,' we think, 'then i know there's something better than what i'm seeing on the surface...i distinctly remember having done some good, and having been noble and kind - hearted.  i've done some very good things, yes i have, so they'll see that.'  and we start calling to mind all the  thoughtful things we've done, all the times we've sacrificed, held our tongue, prayed, wept, labored for others.  problem is, we generally create a bigger mess when we commence our grave - digging than when we started and soon find ourselves deeper and deeper into a mire of pity and slough of despond.  but oh, doesn't satan love it?  it's one of the easiest lies for us to believe, that when we are discouraged if we look a little deeper we'll surely find some perk about ourselves that will cheer us up; when really, we're poking around our old corpse, carefully dissecting, probing, examining the rotting stink that we call our old man.

    a much more simple way and less messy is, when we find ourselves eating dirt  and we know we've done wrong, been sharp, acted in pride, given in to temptation or the countless other traps satan uses on our weakness, instead of looking at your corpse, look at the cross. look up. look at the blood.  Jesus didn't agonize in vain; you were greatly loved, accepted, forgiven.  and that is what satan cannot stand for us to think of and call to mind and rejoice in.  but that is the truth: we've been called to life and there's no reason to spend this one staring at our remains and living in a grave yard.  of all things, of all people, we are incredibly blessed.