They say that “old habits die hard.” That’s an understatement. Sometimes old habits can seem down right impossible to get rid of. It can feel like a part of us is dying.

 

But in some sense, that’s exactly what’s happening. We are called each day to die to our sinful self. It seems like strange idea: God wants us to kill a part of ourselves slowly, day by day.

 

It is strange, until you realize that the parts that He wants to die off were never supposed to be there in the first place. A body functions well when it receives the right nutrition, has the right amount of exercise, and works the way it was designed. But when you introduce something foreign to the system — like cancer, for example — things can breakdown fast.

 

No one would think it strange to kill random, out of control cancer cells in order to return a body to its normal functioning. In fact, it seems crazy not to kill the cancer if there is a chance for life to return to normal. When God asks us to die to ourselves, He is asking us to partner with Him to kill the “cancer” in us — sin— that is destroying our souls.

 

Sin was never meant to be a part of our lives. It destroys. Maybe not all at once, but piece by piece it steals our lives. The more we partner with God to die to self, the more likely we will live the life he designed us to live a life of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control. In other words: the good life.