I’ve read the sixth chapter of
Galatians more times than I can count but today as I read it I saw something I'd never noticed before. Paul said
that not only have we been crucified to the world and its ways (I knew that)
but “the world has been crucified to me.”
May I never boast except in the
cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to
me, and I to the world. Galatians 6:14
That’s right; the worldly ways are dead to us. You could say that they’re “deader
‘n a door nail.” I’ve heard this salty
saying all my life but never knew its full meaning. An online search led me to an article on “the
old house web”* of the historical origin of the saying. Door nails, when driven through a door’s wood panels were bent down on
the other side for extra strength. In times when fires destroyed buildings, whatever was durable, such as pottery—and nails would be
salvaged. However, since the door nails were bent they
were useless—“dead.” The bent ways of the
world are no longer of use to those of us who are followers of Jesus—and we are
of no use to them. That door was nailed shut when Jesus
died on the cross.
