"What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?"
Let's read the preceeding few verses to get the jist of this statement, beginning with verse 21: "So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law, but I see another law at work in he membes of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?"
When I first read this passage, I envisioned a dead body, a corpse, literally strapped to my back. It weighed me down, tormented me with it's weight, decay, stench and appearence. People would look at me and be repulsed by what they saw, drawing away from me. No one would come near me. I was offensive in every possible way. Eventually, the weight of this corpse began to wear on me and I became slower and slower, until I began to sag under the burden, unable to do anything productive with my life. In time, it finally robbed me of my life and I succumbed.
This "body of death" that we carry around with us is our sins, and if they are not disposed of in the proper manner, they will kill us. People see our sin and stay away from us. They don't like to be around negative people; gossips; criticizers and complainers; liars; haters; backbiters; people with ugly dispositions and characters. These are the kinds of "bodies of death" that hang on us and drive others away. This is why God the Father cannot look on us, except through the Blood of Jesus. We are ugly, hideous and diseased.
When we surrender our lives to Jesus, He removes this body of death from us and buries it in the Sea of Forgetfulness. Glory to God !!!! Every time we repent and give up the sin, the healing is instanteanous. We are the redeemed of the Lord. This is one of the reasons Paul encourages us to think on those things which are pure and holy, filling our minds, hearts and lives with the joy of the Lord, which is light and life. Then, instead of repelling others, we become a life-saving beacon, a magnet for Jesus. We are happy saints of God, positive and upbeat, speaking kindly of others and doing good deeds. The "body of death" has been replaced by the living Spirit of God. Hallelujah!
How incredible it is to be a redeemed child of God! What indescribible freedom we have in the Spirit of the Lord! The joy of the Lord truly is my strength, enabling me to go from day to day positive and upbeat, knowing that if God be for me, who can possibly be against me!
What burden, what stink, what ugly thing is dragging you down, what are you carrying around that needs to be buried? Jesus said " . . my burden is light." Cast off the "body of death", repent, and walk strong an upright in the Life of Christ. It is so much more fun to go through life skipping and laughing then being bent over, haggard, weary, and unhappy. As Paul concluded: "Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!"
Sweet Jesus, thank you for your wonderful gift of salvation, whereby we can throw off the ugly body of sin and death. Help me daily, precious Lord, to repent of all the ugliness I do, and strengthen me by your Holy Spirit, to walk in your light and love every minute of my life. I love you Jesus. Amen.
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