Old Man Freddy

Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.  For he who has died has been freed from sin.  Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him.  Knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more.  Death no longer has dominion over Him.  For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.  Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.
Romans 6: 6-12 NKJV

I've come to the realization quite often.  I'll be in a conversation with someone when something is said which makes me stop, take notice and somehow take offense to what has been said.  Of course, at this point the person whom I'm speaking with may have no idea whatsoever that I have been wounded by what they've said.  That fuse of anger and retaliation has already been lit.  I'm now in defense mode, ready to verbally assault my attacker.  Never mind the fact that I may not be under attack at all.  This is that crucial moment where I can either choose to act or react to the situation.  More often than not, I will choose to react.  The end result being hurt feelings, stress and one more person who sees me as someone I'm not.  I recently had this happen in the presence of two close christian brothers.  Now, we've been together as a group for some time, so we know each other quite well.  Well enough to the point where we can light heartedly speak to each other without being downright offensive.  It is against this backdrop which I found myself once again.  In the space of just five minutes, I came to realize that once again I'd resurected that Old Man once again.  Who is this old man who so often plagues me with his beligorant behavior?  Well, he's been dead for some time, but every now and then he reminds me of the way we were.  Like Freddy Kreuger in some cut rate horror movie, that old man is resurected once again to remind me of who I once was.

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobeience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.  But god, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (By grace you have been saved).
Ephesians 2: 1-4 NKJV

So, who is this old man who constantly reminds me of who I once was?  None other than he who's life I once lived.  I wasn't around when the original sin of disobedience of Adam and Eve occured, but I once bore the scars of their original trespass against God.  This was "The fall" of sin in which we all were born into {Romans 5:12}.  Nobody is immune to this identity, for through Adam all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God {Romans 3:23}.  Say hello to the Old Man.  Make no mistake, he knows you as well as you know yourself, perhaps even more.  For it is he who once inhabited your very flesh {Ephesians 2:2}.  We also once walked according to the course of this world, in sin.  Now, notice that I refer to this scoundrel as the "Old Man."  In fact, this is just what the apostle Paul refers to our former self, the way we were {Romans 6:6}.  However, Paul also tells us that it is this old man who was ultimately put to death on that cross with Christ Jesus.  It may seem like a confusing equation, but can also be quite simple once we come to the understanding God has given us.  It is this old man which needed to be put to death, that the body of our original sin would be done away with that we might be one with Jesus {Galations 2:20}.  The death of Jesus not only washed away our sins, but put to death that body of sin we were born into.  That was the old man.
I mentioned my recent interaction between myself and a few christian brothers.  By all rights, these men had every right to be offended by my defensive words.  However, one thought that came to mind as I sat in my shame, this IS NOT who I am!  That was the old man once again rearing his ugly head reminding me of who I once was.  Far from being an indictment on me, I've come to the knowledge that I am a new man in Christ Jesus.  Of course, having walked in my shoes for so long, the old man is well aware of my inner workings.  However, I can rest assured that he is indeed dead.  He doesn't have a name, but I think I'll call him Freddy.

~Scott~