We cannot fully live until we fully die. That means this full life, this Zoë life Jesus tells us about is not attainable until we surrender our sinful nature, until we wring the bad canary’s neck and throw him out of the cage. I’ve got to kill these things so that I can live. I have got to die so I can live. Death is life.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23

It is one thing to die – to self so we can live in Christ – but if we don’t choose to live, what’s the point of dying?

Tim Hughes has a really powerful song called “See His Love.” It's a bit overplayed in my circle of friends - but none the less it still cuts deep into my spirit every time. Go on youtube and watch the video yourself, it is very powerful. The chorus goes:

This is Jesus, in His glory, King of Heaven, dying for me.
It is finished, He has done it, death is beaten, Heaven beckons me.

Death is beaten! Come on, that’s good news! Jesus died so we don’t have to. He took our pain and our shame upon the cross with Him. He died so we could live. Death is life. His death is our life. By not wringing the neck of the bad canary we are just as bad as those who placed the crown of thorns upon our Lord and who hammered the nails into His wrists. Every time we choose to choose death we are whipping Jesus’ back just like His accusers.

It is time to die so that you can live. Death is life.