World War "Z" in Me!

 

It seems like everywhere you turn we are bombarded with the topic of “Zombies”. The idea of the walking dead is everywhere and our culture has become very fixated on this to the point that it has become iconic in some cases. I am not an expert on cultural topics by any means, but it would seem to me as if over the last twelve years that this topic has gotten bigger and bigger. Nearly every third movie or television show coming out to the public is about this topic and I am seeing more and more window clings, and clothing with this phrase, “Zombie Life” or even "Zombie inside".

What is a Zombie by definition?

ZOMBIE: By West Indian origin the term refers to a corpse that is animated in the search for signs of life by which it itself may obtain life.

This is one of those moments when you have to ask for eyes to see what is plainly in view. Why would our society become fixated on this idea of the dead trying to find and consume life? If this is not a reflection of where we are as a nation, or where we are as a people I am not sure how much more audible God has to get for us to realize that “His Life” is being sought and not able to be identified.

If the definition of a Zombie is someone who is dead looking to find life, than I would like to submit to you that we are surrounded by just such a scene. It is not limited to what most Christians would term “The World”. They are in our churches every week and in some cases, they are even in our homes.  In fact, let me tell you about a Zombie that I used to personally know!

 

He walked into the church auditorium that day more dead than alive. By the proper definition you could say that he fit the description of a Zombie. Someone who was lifeless that was doing everything he knew to do to find life and feed off of it.

He was easily overlooked by the greeter at the front door who gave him a bulletin and a friendly smile to match the warm and friendly handshake. “I guess he did not strike me as someone who needed anything more than that.” The greeter would say if you would ask him about the Zombie that had just passed him in the doorway.

He found a seat in a familiar place because he had made it a point to sit in this spot every week. Yes, this Zombie went to the church every week because as I indicated at the beginning of this post that he was dead on the inside and he was desperately seeking life.

He looked for life in just about every venue that claimed to offer it. Fitness clubs, the social scene, shopping, working, family, and literally every kind of sport and hobby he could find. It was life he was after and in fact he was not alone in this quest of life. He knew so many other Zombies that he began to think that everyone was this way.

He tried church because in church they all carried a book. They lifted up the book and cheered and waved it while they talked about how great the book was. They told of others in the past who had the book and about all of the great things that they had done while carrying and waving the book. They talked in length about what it meant to have the book and how important it was to carry the book with pride. They had special conferences every now and again about the book and brought people in who were experts on the book to preach and teach about the book.

“The book was life” they said, so this Zombie eagerly got a book but this Zombie soon found that no life came from owning this book. He took the time to learn how to wave it, and open it when they preached out of it, but still he found no life. He learned how to cheer chants and sing choruses about the book, but life could not be found. He asked about how to find the “Life” that the book talked about and he was directed to a special class to attend. He was told that if he attended that class it would help him to learn how to serve the one who wrote the book and in that service he would find “life”!

 

This Zombie was very happy because NOW after all of his searching for life to fill his lifeless shell he just knew he would be complete!

He jumped right into the special class with everything that was in him, because deep down inside he knew that if he did not find life soon, he would die completely.

He learned very quickly all of the things that he needed to do in order to be a productive member of his church and all of the things to do that would help others see value in him. It was a lot of things to do and he began to tire quickly. He was told he needed to take better notes at the book conferences and he was told again about others who held the book before him and he was reminded again of all the great things they did while holding the book.

 He was inspired, and he rededicated himself to the one who wrote the book and was determined to do everything he could do in order to find the “life” talked about in the book. He worked tirelessly to be valued because he was told that “Life” was in being valued. His performance determined his acceptance and his acceptance in turn determined his value.

Sadly, even though he performed to his level best he knew deep down inside that he had not come any closer to the “Life” that was mentioned in the book. The Zombie sat down one day and picked up the book of the one he had worked so hard to be valued by, and he began to read for himself what was inside the book.

That day changed everything!

He read in the book something amazing! He read that in the beginning God made man in His image for the express purpose of being in the presence of God! He read how on that day man was given “Life”! He saw how God desired to know him and that was even before there was anything he could ever do to be noticed or valued by God! He saw that he was created in God’s image and that because God chose to create him with a soul, that God placed value on him!

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." ~Genesis 1:26-27

 

"And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." ~Genesis 2:7

The Zombie felt something stir within him that he had never felt before. Not even any of the great things he had done could compare with how great he felt to discover that God valued him just because he was breathing!

He read of sin and how it created an emptiness inside of man that nothing could ever fill and he could identify with that because he, in spite of all his trying, felt empty and lifeless. The sin caused a tremendous emptiness because the sin gave man an identity apart from the creator. Man and woman both were made in God’s image and believed a lie that there was something they could do to be more like God. Before the sin it was not God and man it was…”Us” together in fellowship.

The lie was, "Here is something you can do to be more Godly."

"For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." ~Genesis 3:5

Man tried to invent ways to fill the emptiness all throughout that book and he read where God announced His way to bring man back to his original identity. The word that he read in the book was the word “Reconciled”, and it told how Jesus came and died on a cross as a substitution for the man’s sin. He read how through that sacrifice, the world was “reconciled” back to God! It was a simple matter of faith to accept that reconciliation.

"But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.     And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.     For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)

Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous." ~Romans 5:13-19

 

He read the book of Romans and the book of Hebrews! The whole book! Not just selected passages to apply to something someone wanted him to do to earn value to a God that already valued him.

Then the man continued to read the book and he saw how Jesus resurrected from the dead so that the Holy Spirit of God could now indwell man.

"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." ~John 14:26

"Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God."     ~ 2 Corinthians 1:4

"Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you."    ~John 16:7

"To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:"~ Colossians 1:27

It went back to “us” again! He saw that his old nature was crucified with Christ and that by walking in the Spirit (His new identity) he did not have to fulfill the lusts of the flesh. The more the zombie read about God, the less the Zombie became interested in going through motions designed by men to create value among other men. The Zombie realized his identity in Christ and when that happened, The Zombie ceased to exist. Where the Zombie once stood, now walked a man who knew who he was in Christ and who he was to Christ! He had found LIFE!

"... I am come that they might have LIFE and LIFE more abundantly."~John 10:10b

It was not a just license to do whatever he wanted to do. The man discovered that his “Wanter” had changed and now it was about living out the God that indwells him!

 

It was no longer a list of boxes to check with the other zombies in search of a life they could never obtain by checking boxes, it was an inner joy that consumed him and he could not stop talking about this God that chose to indwell him!

He found he spoke constantly to others about this indwelling God and to please Him was to simply be who he was made to be, a reflection of the God within him!

The man discovered that God had given him unique gifts and talents with which to express God to others. He also read where God ordered the man’s steps, and that told the man that God allowed every person who crossed the man’s path to do so in order to express Himself to that person through the man. He discovered that every circumstance allowed in his life was an opportunity to choose God over every other option, even the ones that seemed to make more sense. He saw that life was a person and the person was Jesus Christ!

The man saw that the true definition of the FLESH was not limited to living like a rock star, but rather the flesh was: OPERATING OUT OF MY OWN RESOURCES AND STRENGTH.

All along he had been operating out of the flesh to do good things, but it was no wonder that he had found no joy and fulfillment in trying to live the Christian life.

He had been doing so many good things out of his own strength trying to manufacture "life" that it wore him out. He would see other Zombies working away feverishly to impress Zombie bosses and many times heard them even complain that it was a burden to "Have to do all of this stuff". This wasn't the "Life" Jesus talked about was it?

NO WAY! Only Zombie's eat the flesh!

That walk was generated by his identity being found in:
1) What Things I Have.
2) What Things I Do.
3)What People Think of Me.

That is what is called "The Zombie Flesh Walk" and it is completely opposite to "Walking in the Spirit".

Once the man found life, all he had to do was  yield himself to God so that the “True Life” could be lifted up wherever God took the man. This was the “Life” that the, at one time, zombie thought he would never ever be able to find.

I used to know that Zombie back when he was a Zombie, because that was me.

"... I am come that they might have LIFE and LIFE more abundantly."~John 10:10b

It really is that simple folks! Look around you. Could it be that God is reminding you every time you see this cultural shift manifesting itself that he wants you to realize that HE is LIFE?

 Or 

We each get to choose!

"I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:" ~Dueteronomy 30:19

 

Climbing with you,

~Dan