“You know why you hid in that ditch?”

So begins the haunting conversation between Lieutenant Ronald Speirs and Private Albert Blithe in HBO’s Band of Brothers. Blithe quietly explains why, the night before, he had hidden himself rather than engaging the enemy.

“I was scared,” says Blithe.

But Speirs knows the real reason.

“You hid in that ditch because you think there’s still hope. But Blithe, the only hope you have is to accept the fact that you’re already dead, and the sooner you accept that, the sooner you’ll be able to function as a soldier is supposed to function.”

How ineffective I am in my Christian life when I fondly believe that there is still hope. Hope that all my peers will respect me. Hope that none of my friends will desert me. Hope that I will be generally well thought of. Hope that I can avoid embarrassing those close to me. Hope that I will be accepted as one of the boys. Hope that I can retain some semblance of cool.

There is glorious, God-given, blood-bought freedom from fear when I accept the fact that I am already dead.

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