Sin has a way of creeping into our lives like the cold. At first, it feels like a nice change of pace – a little nip in the air. A light breeze isn’t really a nuisance, so you ignore it. Then, the wind picks up, and the temperature steadily drops. You realize that you are caught out in the cold with no gloves. Sometimes the change happens drastically, and what used to be a bright and clear day suddenly becomes a blizzard.

You are snowed under, and the cold claims your extremities. You can’t feel your nose or fingers anymore. Unprotected, the numbness will turn to frostbite. If left untreated, the frostbitten areas may have to be amputated to avoid death.

The end result of sin is death (Romans 6:23), but praise God, there is a cure for this lethal frostbite of our hearts! However, there is a catch … it requires a voluntary death. We have to let the Lord amputate the dark, gangrenous, exposed areas of our life. We have to die to sin. Easter is a celebration of Christ’s resurrection, but the whole scenario only came about because he willingly gave up his life. As you think about your place in the Easter story, consider Paul’s words in Romans 6:5-7:

“For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been set free from sin” (NIV).

Don’t hold on to the frostbitten areas in your life. When we let go of our sin, we allow God to perform the most amazing transplant surgery imaginable—he gives us a new heart, one that is pumped full of his own Spirit (Ezekiel 36:26-27). We live!