Can He Kill It?

“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.” (Colossians 3:5-11 NIV)

There is a great scene in C.S. Lewis’ The Great Divorce. Souls have gone to Heaven to check it out.  They can stay if they want or go back to Hell; it is their choice.  There is one soul that has a lizard on his shoulder.  The lizard doesn’t like Heaven and wants to go back.  The soul encounters an angel and immediately the lizard feverishly begs to return to parts down under.  The soul begins heading that way when the angel says, “Do you want me to kill it?”  A battle of wills begins between the soul and the lizard as the angel continues to implore to destroy the wicked lizard.  

The lizard represents entrenched sin in our lives that keeps us from an intimate relationship with God.  With it, people develop a comfortable, albeit destructive, relationship.  When the Spirit of God begins to convict us and asks us permission to eliminate it from our lives, the lizard begins pleading and rationalizing with us to let him live.  A battle of wills begins; we know what we need to do, but the fear of what will happen next or the sheer pleasure of the sin makes us reluctant to allow it to be put to death.  

In the book, the soul agonizes over the decision, the lizard pleads for his life, but finally the soul gives permission for the lizard to be put to death.  Immediately, the lizard is transformed into a noble stallion on which the soul rides off into a deeper part of Heaven.  Once a slave of the lizard, he is now master of a wonderful steed.

What Lewis captures so beautifully is the power of God to do amazing things in our lives when we allow Him, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to put to death sin that is enslaving us, whether it be lust, greed, pride, hate, an addiction, etc.   Sin, in a strange way, can be a source of comfort to us.  It can become so an integral part of our lives that we gain some security and comfort from it.  But, without a doubt, it is a huge obstacle in becoming what the Lord has in mind for us.  We cannot fully know, but we can trust Him to have our best interests at heart.  The soul in Lewis’ tale finally garnered the courage to give permission for the lizard to be put to death.  The result was one he could not have imagined—he went from slavery to freedom and his cruel master was transformed as well.

Today, what is enslaving you?  Will you let the Lord put it to death?  He will gladly do it, but needs permission from you.  If fear is holding you back, know death of that sin will transform your life in ways you can now not even imagine.  Can He kill it?

© Jim Musser 2016