I want to spend a little more time talking about letting go and letting things die. Depending on where you live, you may not experience a fall season, but many know the process of fall or have seen pictures or movies of fall. That is where everything that was once colorful and full of vibrancy and life begins to fall away. What seems to be death actually starts the cycle of giving birth to new life.
We are talking about fall and things that are dying or seemingly die, but I want to talk about something the scripture truly wants us to reckon as death. That is sin, our old nature, the life that was born of the first Adam. There is such freedom when we declare that life as dead. God wants us to see ourselves the way he sees us, and that is alive in Christ Jesus. Let’s look at Romans 6 starting at verse 8 and see what Paul says… for we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, He cannot die again… the death He died, He died to sin once and for all, but the life He lives, He lives to God. Yes, that was Jesus, but did we not die with Him? Were we not raised with Him?
Looking at verse 11, in the same way, count yourselves dead to sin and the old nature, that identity of self-focused, selfish living. Can you think of a sin that did not include selfishness? I can’t.  Therefore, Christ has taken all forms of selfishness to the grave. Paul wants us to declare the truth that Jesus considers, that the Father considers it dead once and for all. Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body. It is an allowance now. Let us realize the truth that we no longer have to be bound by the sinful nature. We have an identity now that’s in Christ. We can let go of what we were never created to be in the first place.
When we know that we are dearly loved and believe the truth that Jesus Christ took and removed sin once and for all, it changes the whole perspective of how we view ourselves in life. When we let go of the old, something new is birthed in its place. We have been so blinded by focusing on the old life, by trying to incorporate Christ into the old life. We didn’t pray a prayer to go to Heaven one day only to live a life full of death here on the earth. We are called to let go of the life that brings death so that we can be raised to life and walk in the fruit of the Spirit, to walk in a selfless, giving life that transforms hearts everywhere we go, starting with ours. May our old man fall away like death so that His life can be resurrected.