Romans 6:6
Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

There was a part of each of us walking with Christ up that hill so long ago. As He stumbled through the streets, bearing His cross, in the shadows beside Him was our old man, the person we used to be but don’t have to be anymore, the part of us that loved sin and reveled in it. Our old man was crucified along with Jesus that day. The nails went in and the life came out. So like a body on a cross, let’s leave it there and be resurrected in our spirit to life anew, trusting only in Christ’s perfection, completeness and wholeness.

That old part of us was a slavemaster. It compelled us to do evil things and rebel against God.   We disobeyed, we sinned, we failed. But that old man does not control us anymore. We have been freed from his power. We have been released by the blood of Christ to become new men who serve Him instead, new men with the hope of eternal life with Him, new men who don’t have to give in to the desire for sin that used to dwell within us.

Have we truly identified with the death of Christ in this way? Or have we perhaps dragged down that old man from the cross and continued to carry him around with us? Do we bear the burden of past sins, forgiven sins? Do we cling tightly to our old nature and refuse to surrender all fleshly desires? Do we perhaps even mourn the death of those sins and desire to resurrect them in our lives now?

May it not be so. May we never long for a life of sin once we have been redeemed by Jesus’ precious blood. May we not return to those things that only sought to hurt and destroy. May we leave our old man up there on a cross, a sacrifice for Him. May that body be destroyed completely, allowed to decay and rot until there is no sign of it left. May we give up our past ways with no regrets and seek instead to live anew in Christ, trusting His wisdom and His hand to guide us. May we serve Him out of love and with grateful hearts, remade in His image and no longer bowing to the old man.