Night of the living dead

Night of the living Dead.  Sunday’s epistle to the Collossians

BRETHREN, when Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience. In these you once walked, when you lived in them. But now put them all away; anger, wrath, malice, slander, and foul talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old nature with its practices and have put on the new nature, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free man, but Christ is all, and in all.

There is a popular movie,  Night of the Living Dead.  The people somehow  have a morbid  experience of living.  They  get killed  and live on as zombies- without really ever dying.  Yet they  are dead.

Though  not the same as this,  St Paul  describes us as living dead.  We are to  become  dead  to the  world’s assaults of desires even while living.  Our  earthly desires have to be killed while we are alive. For “all that is in the world,  the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not of the Father but is of the world.” (I Jn2:15-16)

Why though?  Why not just “eat and drink for tomorrow we die?”  Because Paul tells us,”When  Christ who is our life shall appear then  shall we also appear with Him in glory.”  We become dead to the desires of the flesh so we can  be alive to  the One who gives us life.

Let’s become the living dead.  Dead to the desires of the world-  and alive unto  God through Jesus Christ our Lord.