While my husband and I visited Lima, Peru, we visited the Convento de San Francisco and the catacombs underneath. It is projected that seventy-five thousand people’s bones are buried beneath the church. Thus every worship service, wedding, and special event in the church is performed over thousands of dead bodies. In many ways this is an honorable place for the dead to be—a truly spiritual resting place for the remnants of their earth suit. Yet as we visited the catacombs on a Sunday, with a Spanish Catholic mass going on above us, something felt a bit strange. Perhaps we should have been attending the service instead of plodding around the basement looking at old bones.
I wonder how many people spend their Christian lives focused on “dead bones.” Paul tells us clearly in his epistles that we are a new creation in Christ, the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Cor 5:17). And yet we find ourselves deceived into thinking that the old man still lives somehow, with a strong hold on our lives.
Please remember—whenever you are tempted to sin as a Christian, you have help. The devil “prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). He will use the old programming in your physical brain to inspire your mind, emotions, and will to serve his needs. He will make you think it is you, but that is not the real you. The real you has a living spirit, combined inextricably with Jesus, and has the heart of Jesus himself. It may be hard to believe, but the Bible declares this truth.
Does this mean that we do not take responsibility for our actions? Certainly not! It is every Christian’s duty to stand firm against the enemy, and tune in to the Holy Spirit to hear truth over the lies. In order to “hear” the Holy Spirit, it helps to have a regular, committed relationship with him. If you were to build a new human relationship, you would probably spend time together, communicate with each other, and learn each other’s hopes and dreams for the future. You would want to do this, not feel made to do it. Similarly, if you want your actions to align more with Jesus’ teachings, then you need to spend time with Him. This means reading your Bible, praying, worshipping, and usually having regular fellowship with other believers who can help work the truths of the Bible into you. This you should also do because you want to, not because you have to.
Stop plodding around looking at dead bones! Get out of the dirty basement and come up into the light where true life is found.
