As people leap from their seats, the terror of what they are watching engulfs their minds and they are momentarily convinced of the reality of zombies. Society has engaged the the thought of the walking dead and has flocked to shows, comics and movies that deal with walkers. But is there any reality to this? Is there a realm where they are real?

In Ephesians, Paul talks to us about the true condition of man apart from Christ.  “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—”

The first emphasis that Paul places in the sentence is YOU. He is asking the reader to focus on themselves. This is a seemingly contradictory thought.  As Christians we are to focus on God and others. Here, we are asked to look at ourselves. Because when it comes to failure or conviction we often divert our eyes to someone else. We look how they failed or sinned. There is something in our hearts that makes us better at seeing others failures than our own. But here we need to look at ourselves. To look at who we were before Christ. This bleak picture of our previous Christ-less life is one we want to forget. But when we forget what we once were, we can not fully appreciate and praise God for what we now are. So take a moment and reflect on you. How would you describe yourself prior to knowing Christ. And if you do not know Christ, what words would you use to describe your inner self. The thoughts you have when all alone. The thoughts you used to have. 

The second emphasis is placed on the word DEAD. This is a loud word. When we here dead images, emotions and thoughts flood our mind. We can remember the first time someone close to us died. It is difficult to correlate physically dead with spiritually dead. To us physical death seems like the end, it’s permanent. But is it? In each of us there is a question that asks; “Is this life really all there is?” And the answer is no. There is much more to this life than being able to walk around, earn a living, eat food,  and have friends. But this is the struggle. We see people moving. We see people breathing. And in our logical and reasonable mind we say they are alive. But are they?

Spiritually, people without Christ are dead. Look at the depression, the anxiety, the joylessness of society. Entire shows are made around criticizing, biting and devouring famous people. And these famous people are ones that society looks up to. So the very ones we look up to, we also enjoy watching them be tore down. It’s why we root for the underdog. It’s why we love seeing bloopers. There is a seed in us that enjoys others failures. And in the end we fail to love, and we consume one another. Spiritually dead people consume. They consume famous people. They consume weak people. They consume products. They consume, consume, consume. And it’s all for themselves. And at the core our our hearts, we remember what it was like to be a dead consumer. We would eat and eat, but with no true satisfaction. But do we identify that people without Christ are dead? Even though they move, they have not true life. They are not alive in Christ. And since Christ is life, without Him they and we were dead. 

The third emphasis is that we all WALKED with the world. When we walked with the world we did what everyone else did. We never thought how our actions effect others. We never thought how our actions effected God. We walked as consumers. We walked however devilish it may have been. Whatever we felt like doing, we did. Our desires were our guide. This pursuit of fulfilling desires can be seen in our materialistic mindset and our pornographic consumption. These women and men in these pictures and videos are real people. But when you are dead and walking, you do not care what the cost is to others. You just want to consume. When you see a good deal, but you already have what you need, you don’t care to think how that $20 could feed hungry children or support a needy family in your community. And here we have this picture of what we all once were or currently are. We do not want to hear how terrible life was before Christ. We do not want to hear how terrible others lives are right now without Christ. Because when we engage the reality of the spiritual world it forces action. You can’t see how things really are and remain comfortable. You begin to see how you have sliden back into your old ways, and now things may to change. So let it change.

Because what do you think of when you read: “YOU DEAD WALKED.” Zombies. I know it is weird to read that word. But if God’s word tells us that people without Christ are dead people walking, then that is the reality. And when we realize that life without Christ is likened unto Zombie lifelessness, it puts a picture in our mind that makes us less comfortable with being a consumer. Less comfortable with doing nothing. Less comfortable doing nothing for the walking dead of this world. So will you turn your mind to God’s reality? Will you see that although people may be moving, may be eating, may appear to be living, that really they are spiritually dead. Christ is life and without Him we are dead.