ghosts of our former selves

Lewis talks about ghosts today in A Year with C.S. Lewis.

He says that what is left over of a man who goes to hell isn't really a man at all. It's just a shadow of the man that he was. A shade. A ghost.

Perhaps he's right. Maybe when sin takes hold of someone that entirely, and they are indeed damned beyond redemption (because they refuse to accept it), then they become a sort of shadow of their former self. Of course, if you've read my other blogs, you know that I hope this isn't the case. I hope that every man is redeemed. But we won't know until we get there.

What we DO know is that sin causes us to be a lesser version of ourselves now. When we let sin get hold of us, we find ourselves behaving less like ourselves, and doing things that surprise us. We find ourselves wasting our time and energy on things that we know don't really matter. We find ourselves being a shadow of our former selves.

Now, even though we don't know for sure if everyone gets to go to heaven... we DO know that everyone in this life has a shot at redemption. We can ALL start making wise decisions. We can all choose to turn away from the sins that so easily entangle us, and run with perseverance the race set before us. We can ask Him to unshackle us from the sins that we're prone to commit, and live a life of freedom and peace.

If you find yourself struggling with sin, today can be the first day on the road to freedom. Ask Him to show you how. You don't have to be a ghost of your former self any longer.

God, thank You for redeeming us from our ghostly selves.