The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” vss. 10-11
Romans 6:6-11
Paul has some large expectations for those who have been baptized into Christ and who dare to call themselves his followers. We are not to be content with muddling along in life and blindly following the ways of the world. And we should never even imagine that living by grace renders our words and our actions meaningless. Paul puts it plainly: We “must consider [ourselves] dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” He says it even more clearly in his second letter to the Corinthians: “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see everything has become new!” This isn’t a threat or a warning to change our lives or else! This is a baptismal promise, a magnificent invitation to peaceful, joy-filled living. The sins of the past need not muddy our future–we aren’t doomed to keep on living with our regrets and failures. Rather, each morning announces resurrection. We burst forth from our tombs with new spirits, ready to love and serve with humility and kindness. In Christ we are freed to become the dream that was in the eye of God at our creation. And it doesn’t just happen once! Again and again, with the dawning of a new day, we are raised to live in newness of life.
Thought for the Day: What’s my first thought at the break of day?
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