In New Testament times
capital punishment was sometimes carried out by tying a murder victim's
body directly onto the perpetrator's back. That way
wherever he went he was literally weighed down by his crime, with no
way to escape the stench of decomposing flesh. Eventually the
bacteria-filled corpse infected him too and he died an agonising death.
Some days St Paul felt the weight of his old nature pressing in,
reminding him of things from the past that he couldn't change or
eradicate. And recognising how past events can colour the
present, St Paul describes himself as 'a wretched man' and asks, 'Who
will rescue me from this body of death?'
The fact is you can't move ahead with 'the old man' still clinging to
you; you must bury him. Even death doesn't have the finality that
burial does; part of coming to closure involves disposal of the
body. Funerals are for the living; they give people an
opportunity to accept that their loved one has gone and that the
relationship as they knew it is over.
And as you go into this new year perhaps it's time you stopped carrying
the past around on your back - and on your mind. St Paul says,
'... present yourselves to God as those alive from death ...' (Romans 6:13). In other words,
refuse to let old memories negotiate a deal with you! Bury them,
and do it today.
You can't afford a secret love affair with a corpse! It's time
for an epitaph, not a revival. There are things in life worth
reviving, but not past sins that Jesus paid for and forgave long ago.