We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life (Romans 6:4 NIV).

Preparation

I met a man this week who is totally negative about life. He is miserable; nothing is fun and if by accident you were to have some fun, you should repent.

He goes to church to complain about it.

Some would say he really isn't living; he's just taking up space and wasting air. I think he's dead, just not buried yet.

In the powerful film, The Sixth Sense, Dr. Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis) is a successful child psychiatrist who is confronted by a disturbed former patient. The young man shoots Dr. Crowe and then kills himself.

Months later, a distraught Crowe begins counseling Cole Sear, a withdrawn and fearful 9 year-old. In one crucial scene, Crowe asks Cole what he wants most, and the boy answers, "I don't want to be scared anymore."

The most famous lines in the movie come from this frightened little boy. He looks into the soul of Crowe and says, "I have a secret. I see dead people."

Crowe responds, "Dead people, like in graves, in coffins?"

Cole continues, "Walking around like regular people. They don't see each other. They only see what they want to see. They don't know they're dead. I see them all the time. They're everywhere."

When the film was shown in theaters, most viewers were not prepared for the plot twist, but the "dead people" walking is the heart of this movie.

The boy had a gift, so do you.

Can you see them? You probably know more than one. They share your air, but not your life. They are stiff and fun-less.

These zombies drag themselves through life one day at a time, draining the breath from everyone around them. It's time to rock their world.

Inspiration

God is the God of resurrection, the giver of life, so LIVE.
In his book, Dance Lessons for Zombies, Peter Hiett tells about the night Philip and Janet Yancey came for dinner.

They didn't know the Yancey's very well and wanted to make a good impression, so they sat their kids down and set up some rules for the evening. "There will be no booger stories, there will be no burping stories, and there will be no passing gas stories." They laid down the law.

The dinner was good and so were the kids, but they were stiff, like little zombies. "I knew why," said Peter, "in their minds they were reviewing the list of unspeakable words and untellable stories. They were constantly occupied with what they were not supposed to say. They were living by my law and dying by my law. The law was killing them."

Finally Peter's daughter, Becky, got caught up in one of Janet's stories and said, "That's like the time Coleman ..." Then all at once she put her hand over her mouth, her eyes got big, and she said, "Sorry, I'm not supposed to say that."

Janet responded, "Becky, is there a list of things you're not supposed to say in front of us?"

"Uh huh."

"Oh, wow! Becky, tell me everything on the list."

After that, the rest of the evening was filled with laughter and fun and life!

Motivation

God is the God of resurrection, the giver of life, so LIVE. He has put Jesus in you. Imagine life beyond the rules. Unwrap Jesus and set Him free.

Look for dead people this week. Do something to get their attention. Share a story you're not supposed to share, something funny, something mysterious, something unexplainable. Invite them to a party; show them what they're missing. Infect them with life.

Bury the dead person and let Jesus raise up a new person with an unending, exciting, outrageous, extravagant, and adventurous life worth living.