Die Quietly

And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. Romans 8:10

Late last evening I received an email from a friend who took exception to my devotional yesterday. Apparently, it hit a nerve. And, I still owe that friend an email to remind them that there was no offense intended. The devotionals are my way of sharing what the Lord is doing and showing me in my life. If everybody agreed with me it would be a boring life, indeed. I’m OK with different opinions so long as they can be reconciled with the Word of God.

But, that’s not my point this morning. My point is how the Lord uses the devotional in my life. When I first received the email about yesterday’s entry, I chuckled at the righteous indignation that was oozing from the pages. About 15 seconds later, the Holy Spirit convicted me of the fact that I had spent most of the day in a righteously indignant huff myself.

I didn’t even try to reason with the Lord and explain to Him why my huff was warranted and my friend’s was not. I know better. A dear friend and mentor of mine spent quite a season in my life explaining to me that you cannot offend a dead man. If Christ is in me, then sin is dead. When that offense rises up, it is a clue that something else needs to die.

Once the general principle of ‘you can’t offend a dead man” was ingrained in me, my mentor moved on to a shorthand reminder of my sin. When I whine and complain about an offense I should never have picked up in the first place, he gently reminds me, “Die quietly.”

Lord, help us all to die to self and to live for Christ. Amen