For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. (Romans 6:5-7)
I distinctly remember being a freshman in college at San Diego State, sitting in a course called “Death, Dying, and the Afterlife.” This class was a survey of different religious traditions and their stances on these three main topics. Toward the end of the semester, we had a unit on hospice and end-of-life care. It was during that unit that I learned that the five stages of grief were never meant to counsel people mourning a loved one. The five stages (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance) were originally intended to help those with terminal illnesses come to grips with their own mortality.
The point of working through the five stages of grief is to help the dying person come to terms with dying. I think that there’s a similar realization that all of us who are in Christ need to have. How can we understand that we’ve been made alive if we’ve never realized that we were once dead? Even more so, how do we learn that being alive in Christ means being dead to sin?
In light of this, I would argue that the process of sanctification is really similar to the five stages of grief. Over time, we’re learning how to die to ourselves and how to be dead to our sin. The exercise of re-wiring our thoughts to reflect the reality that we were once dead in sin, and we are now dying to it.
Through the process of sanctification and through the power of the Holy Spirit, we’re learning more and more what it looks like to be dead. We are dead people, walking in the light of Christ.
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God — this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:1-2)
Friend, I hope that the realization of your death to sin sets you free today.
Kassie Lowe
Young Adults Lead