The Daily Sinner
Becoming a Christian is exciting and a new beginning.
What If You Died Every Day?
“I die daily.”
Reading that as a stand-alone phrase would make anyone wonder what in the world does that mean? How can someone die every day unless they are stuck in time like that movie “Groundhog Day” the one where Bill Murray must repeat the same day over and over again until he gets it right.
Miss-Directed Anger
But I know from my own experiences what this means. A few days ago marked five years since my wife of 48 years “Elizabeth” passed. When that happened, I was extremely angry at God. I was so angry I walked up and down the gravel road that leads to my house screaming at Him. I called God every curse word I knew and when I ran out of curse words, I made up words. Then I cried out: “WHY, WHY would You take her! I am the sinner!! She was always faithful to you, I was not.”
A Great Friend Intervenes
Later, when I told my best friend and co-worker William what I had done, he got right up close to me, looked me in the eyes, and asked me, “Dennis do you know what God probably Thought?” Now, I didn’t care or want to know but I sarcastically responded, “no and I don’t care either!” William whispered, “God thought, well at least Dennis is talking to me now.” For whatever reason that struck me as funny, and I began to laugh. I had not laughed in a very long time. Soon I was laughing so hard I was crying and laughing at the same time. Then uncontrollable sobbing took over and I couldn’t stop.
William comforted me then as he had throughout the process of losing Elizabeth and I am forever grateful to him. One year later he told me that he too was facing death, would soon be with Elizabeth, and they would wait for me there in Heaven. As he gracefully left this earth to be with God, I hoped I was as much comfort to him as he always was to me.
https://thedailysinner.blog/does-faith-have-a-face/
I Do Die Daily
You might think this story is answering the question as to how I might “die daily.” Maybe a piece of me dies each time a loved one passes. Holes are certainly left in our lives when someone who resides in our heart passes. That is not what the Apostle Paul meant when he penned the phrase “I die daily.” And even though I will bear the pain daily of losing my beautiful Elizabeth and many other loved ones, dying daily has a much more important and deeper meaning.
What dying daily means is: each and every day I continue to make life less about me and more about God. Living my life becomes more for God and less for money, possessions, and self-pride.
Being realistic and honest, I admit that sometimes this can be hard because I am used to the “creature comforts.” I seem to always want something, a new car, new TV, a new guitar, or a new tool. That’s why it’s a daily process. Dying daily means that each day my earthly “self” becomes less, my self-pride becomes less, and I move closer to my creator. The spotlight should never be on me, it should shine on God. When Jesus said that in order to follow Him we must carry a cross, I believe He meant that something must die before we can live. We must die to ourselves, our rights, and our desire to be our own boss. We must die daily and put God in charge of our life.
1 Corinthians 15 NKJV (biblehub.com
“I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.”
I am thankful for the Holy Spirit that leads me in my understanding of God’s Word. Without divine guidance, my understanding and writing ability would fall far short. All glory belongs to God!!
Beautiful writing and absolutely true! It’s so difficult to give up control and hand things over to Him sometimes. But you’re so right, we must put God in charge of our lives.