This morning as I was reading my devotional, a phrase stuck out to me. Ephesians 2:1 “...you were dead in your transgressions….” As someone raised in the church, the idea of being ‘dead in sin’ is not new, but for some reason, I was struck by it. I was dead, but now I am alive in Christ. What does that mean? I’ve honestly never actually thought about it before. Maybe, when faced with the concept of someone going from death to life, the first image in my mind should have been Jesus who died and was raised from the dead, but my first thought was a zombie; the walking dead.
I had the opportunity to portray a zombie on The Walking Dead quite a few times a couple of years ago. I went to zombie school and got to don full zombie makeup and contacts on quite a few occasions. It was a very cool experience. There are rules to being a zombie on The Walking Dead; no Frankenstein walking, no leg dragging. The big thing was, that you are aimlessly wandering until someone delicious is nearby, then you become motivated. I spent a lot of time aimlessly wandering, bumping into things, unmotivated, directionless; then chasing after something that would hopefully satiate my endless zombie hunger.
I think that is a pretty good picture of what my life was before I fully devoted myself to Christ. I had this void in my life that I tried to fill with relationships, activities, work, family, fun; but none of it worked. I had no clear direction. I just wandered around trying to find meaning and fulfillment, but there was none to be found. I could blame my emptiness of my depression (which, let’s be honest, didn’t help matters), but my depression wasn’t the only issue. I needed Jesus Christ.
Through my relationship with Him, my (hopefully) daily prayer and devotion time, and my church, I have started seeing things differently. I am able to see that God has a purpose for me; in my community, my work and my family. I have peace about my family and my future. I have peace about my past. I have direction in my life: to grow in Christ. I now realize that if I focus on Him, everything else will fall into place.
“But because of his great love for [me], God, who is rich in mercy, made [me] alive with Christ…it is by grace [I] have been saved.” Ephesians 2: 4-5
I had the opportunity to portray a zombie on The Walking Dead quite a few times a couple of years ago. I went to zombie school and got to don full zombie makeup and contacts on quite a few occasions. It was a very cool experience. There are rules to being a zombie on The Walking Dead; no Frankenstein walking, no leg dragging. The big thing was, that you are aimlessly wandering until someone delicious is nearby, then you become motivated. I spent a lot of time aimlessly wandering, bumping into things, unmotivated, directionless; then chasing after something that would hopefully satiate my endless zombie hunger.
I think that is a pretty good picture of what my life was before I fully devoted myself to Christ. I had this void in my life that I tried to fill with relationships, activities, work, family, fun; but none of it worked. I had no clear direction. I just wandered around trying to find meaning and fulfillment, but there was none to be found. I could blame my emptiness of my depression (which, let’s be honest, didn’t help matters), but my depression wasn’t the only issue. I needed Jesus Christ.
Through my relationship with Him, my (hopefully) daily prayer and devotion time, and my church, I have started seeing things differently. I am able to see that God has a purpose for me; in my community, my work and my family. I have peace about my family and my future. I have peace about my past. I have direction in my life: to grow in Christ. I now realize that if I focus on Him, everything else will fall into place.
“But because of his great love for [me], God, who is rich in mercy, made [me] alive with Christ…it is by grace [I] have been saved.” Ephesians 2: 4-5
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| Zombie Attack. Halloween 2009 |
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