OBITUARY OF THE OLD DEAN BUTLER

The old Dean Butler died on January 24, 1974, at the age of twenty-three.

He had lived those years separated from God, ruled by sin, and going his own way. He was not able to save himself, change his heart, or make himself right with God. He needed more than religion. He needed new life.

His death was not caused by sickness, an accident, or old age. He died when he came to Jesus Christ in repentance and faith.

“Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin” (Romans 6:6).

There was no funeral. No flowers were sent. No one gathered to mourn. That old life was not something worth holding onto. It had already produced enough sin, regret, and wasted years.

But this obituary is not really about a death. It is about what happened next.

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

The old Dean died, but God gave life to a new man. He was forgiven, made right with God, and given the Holy Spirit. He did not become perfect overnight, and he has not lived perfectly since. The old habits did not disappear without a fight. Temptation remained, and there have been failures along the way. But the man who walked away from that encounter with Christ was no longer the same man who came to Him.

That is what salvation does. Jesus did not come to make the old man behave a little better. He came to put the old man to death and give him a new life.

“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20).

The old Dean lived for himself. The new Dean belongs to Christ. The old Dean followed his own desires. The new Dean wants to follow the One who saved him. That does not mean there has never been a struggle. It means the struggle now has a different Master, a different purpose, and a different ending.

Someday another obituary may carry my name. It will announce that my body has died. But the most important death in my life already happened more than fifty years ago. The man I used to be was crucified with Christ, and the life I now live belongs to Him.

Every true believer has an obituary like this. The name and date will be different, but the cause of death is the same. The old self was crucified with Christ.

The question is not whether you have become more religious or started behaving better.

Has the person you used to be died, and have you been made new in Christ?

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“What I write is not for everyone, but what I write is meant for someone.” – Dean Butler

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