Our move to Colorado Springs a few years ago included many changes and pursuits. Included in those pursuits was the search for a home. We spent many days driving around attempting to find a place that met all of the needs of a family of six. Number of bedrooms and bathrooms was crucial. Plenty of storage space and enough room for us all to eat and hang out together was also very important.
However, our drive by conversations when sizing up a potential new Casa De Hobson began to turn to a more important topic driven by this question: How well would we be able to defend ourselves in the event of a Zombie Apocalypse?
Yes, at that time we had two teenagers who were spurring on this discussion, but I must admit…I joined right in! I mean… who doesn’t want to make sure your home is defensible if and when the Zombie Apocalypse takes place!
This experience in searching for the ZOMBIE DEFENSIBLE HOME is just a sign of the times. There is definitely a vast amount of fascination with zombies in our modern culture: The Walking Dead, Endless Movies and Video Games, Jeeps – The Zombie Apocalypse Edition (which I have seen two driving around my hometown of Colorado Springs!) and you can even find Zombie Preparedness on the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Website!
Though it seems like Zombies are a modern day creation and rage, they have actually been discovered in many historical books and writings. In fact, according to one definition, Zombies have actually been mentioned in the Bible!
One of the definitions of a zombie is: the body of a dead person given the semblance of life, by a supernatural force.
So…using that as a reference point, read what we find in Matthew 27:50-53, right at the end of the story of Jesus’ Crucifixion:
Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit. At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart, and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead.
They left the cemetery after Jesus’ resurrection, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people.
WHAT?!
When Jesus died, dead people came to life by a supernatural force! And when He was resurrected, they went into town and said hello!
This story causes me to have so many questions, like:
What did these people say when they went into town? Did they continue to live? What did their friends and family think when they just showed up for dinner? Did they look the same as before? Did they smell bad? Were their clothes, hair and teeth all rotted? Why hasn’t Steven Spielberg made a movie about this yet?
And the last question: did Jesus create a Zombie Apocalypse?
Well, maybe Apocalypse is the wrong word to use here. However, according to the definition given above, a Zombie Uprising might not be too farfetched! Those who were dead, were now alive and empowered by His Spirit.
The life in Jesus must have been so powerful that at His death, the life that was released from him caused dead, rotting flesh to reanimate and literally bring people back to life. That’s a powerful picture and one I believe we can learn from.
We could debate all day on whether Zombies are real and if an Apocalypse of the Undead is coming. That would be an entertaining conversation, but at the end of the day it would be just that…a conversation.
I would rather ponder the lessons that might be hidden in the story of Jesus and the “Uprising” that occurred at His death.
However, to get there I am about to make a hard right turn and I ask you to come with me, no matter how crazy what I am about to say sounds.
I believe a Zombie Apocalypse has already taken place, and it is an Apocalypse of the worst kind.
The Apocalypse I speak of is one that creates spiritual and emotional zombies who fill our streets, neighborhoods, schools, churches, and cities.
It is the type that causes:
- Young men and women to take their own lives before they even reach their prime.
- People to live out their existence online and through video game personas because real life hurts too much.
- Individuals to check out of Church and other social gatherings because though it is community they crave, the pain involved in real, raw relationships is too much for them to endure.
- A generation to fake happiness and mask pain, because no one is allowed to be truly honest.
Unfortunately this Apocalypse is real and one that we cannot ignore.
The question is…What are we going to do about it?
I believe the only option we have is to follow the example of Jesus and create a different kind of Zombie uprising; one that is filled with life rather than death, builds rather than destroys, and that causes people to come out of the tombs of demise we as a society and culture have created.
The first and most important step is this: We must do what Jesus did and die to ourselves. It is the only way to stop the epidemic that is taking place. We must be willing to lay down our lives, reputations, and self-serving pursuits. Death to self is the only way that life will spring forth and alter the wave of lifeless emotional and spiritual zombies that is spreading in our world.
The moment Jesus died, immediately an army of those who were dead rose up from their graves. When He was resurrected, they filled the streets. Life and death are more contagious than any air borne pathogens known to man. And we are the carriers of both. We read in Scripture, “Life and Death is in the Power of the Tongue.”
We must begin to speak life into this generation. We must live out real, raw, transparent lives filled with mistakes, times of doubt, and moments of bad judgment and yet still full of LIFE! While death is the language of the day, we must stop speaking it, even when it is masked in religious overtones and well-meaning intentions.
I am very thankful for a group of men God has allowed me to be a part of whom have helped me came alive once again. And from that group I have learned a very powerful principle: Real life is not about right and wrong, it is about life and death.
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no man comes unto the Father except by Me.” Powerful words from one who has known death and who is the very essence of Truth and Life.
Through our words and actions, we must stop beating the life out of people which is creating Spiritual/Emotional Zombies who are void of life. We must be willing to die to ourselves, opinions, style, and differences.
Jesus brought love and life into every sphere of culture He encountered. As we have read, He even brought life to those who were dead! The only people who were unable to embrace and receive the life He brought were the religious crowd.
The Zombie Apocalypse we currently face will not be stopped by our Theological grand standing or immovable personal stances we make. No… All that will do is create more death and the epidemic will just continue to grow.
The awesome thing about THIS CURRENT ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE is that ALL ZOMBIES CAN BE CURED AND BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE! I know…because I have been one.
And no amount of religion or well thought out arguments could bring me back…
No, strangely it was death that brought me back to life. The death of one that is life. And the death of others who were willing to love me as I am, accept me in my emotionally and spiritually dead state and fill me with life once again. (It is a strange paradox that to overcome death and bring life to the walking dead of our generation we must die.)
It’s never too late to “turn” a zombie in this current Apocalypse. But, stop trying to fix them – they are a Zombie…they don’t want to be fixed. Stop filling them with well thought out Theological arguments and opinions – they are dead…they cannot hear you. Stop judging them – cutting into a zombie does nothing but cause limbs to fall off of that which is already dead.
Instead…pour a big bucket of life on their soul. Love them until their heart beats once again. Don’t worry if they don’t respond. They are a Zombie, don’t be surprised when they act like one.
And, Last of all…..
Well, the next point will have to wait. For you see…there is more than one Zombie story in the Bible and another powerful lesson to learn.
Until then…Go be like Jesus and spread life. You have an Apocalypse to stop and an alternate uprising to begin.
Unwritten 