The other day I was on the roof cleaning out the gutters and hanging Christmas lights when I noticed some birds (probably buzzards) flying around in circles on the other side of the road. I am sure they were looking for something to eat, but I wondered if they were just waiting on me to fall off the roof. I chuckled to myself and thought that would be a terrible way to go. That incident has caused me to think about the phrase “dead man walking.” When the buzzards saw me on the roof, did they think “dead man walking”?
That phrase has caused me to think. The reality is that I am a dead man walking. The fact is, we are all dead people walking. Unless the Lord Jesus Christ returns before I die (which is a real possibility), I will die (Hebrews 9:27; Ecclesiastes 7:2). I know some do not like to think about that, but whether we like to think about it or not, it is a reality. We had better prepare for it because in death we will face judgment as Hebrews said. How do I prepare? I die now. I am not talking about taking your life physically now but dying to self and living for God.
This thought of dying yet still living comes from Galatians 2:20 where Paul talks about dying with Christ yet still living. I die to self in that watery grave of baptism and arise to walk in a new life. That is a daily struggle. I do not have to be baptized every day now that I am a child of God, but Jesus does call me to take up my cross daily and follow Him, dying to my wants, passions, and desires that lead me away from Him and living a life in pursuit of being more like Him. No doubt, that can be a struggle as even though we are “dead,” our wants and desires “resurrect” themselves and cause us difficulties. I want you to know you can overcome these struggles through the power of God. Let’s be dead-to-self people walking for Jesus.