Someone recently said to me that their past is still a part of them. When I heard that, the scriptures came flooding in that refute this seemingly innocent truth that our past holds sway over us in personality, character and more. It caused quite a bit of heartache in me personally, because I look at sin as a 'sticky substance,' something to be repented of, but also to be free of as well. Christ forgives us, but he also sets us free through death. How many times in scripture does the writer use the word 'death' to describe our relationship to the past? Why does our past self need to suffer a death for us to 'live' in the future God has for us? Why must we reckon ourselves 'dead' to the former self, and cease to long for that person to rise again? Just taking quick 'peeks' of remembrance to my former self makes me cringe sometimes, and horrified at the level of corruption, selfishness, and cunning at which I operated in this world at such a young age. Sin is like an advanced form of cancer, not waiting around to infect and destroy every vital organ. If that 'self' wasn't killed at the cross of Christ, the world would not be a better place with the advanced form of me years down the road. I celebrate daily the fact that I 'died', and God's righteous seed in me took root and began to grow when I surrendered to His Son. Every part of my past is not dark, but every part of my past was laced with sin, and sin affected every part of my existence. So the word 'death' to my former self no longer sounds so harsh, and newness of life and true hope spring out of that. This verse, along a vast number of others, sums up the thoughts in Romans 6:6- "For we know that our old self was crucified with him, so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin."
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