Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. Romans 6:2-4
There are just piles and piles of trash all over our community right now. People are gutting and disinfecting their homes getting rid of everything that has been damaged by flooding and preventing further deterioration. It must be done in a timely manner, otherwise, their dwelling may become a moldy death hazard.
The homes will be unlivable until they are made new by rebuilding. They suffered death by water and must be renewed to live again. The only way to do this is to take out the old and replace it with the new.
As a faithful Christian, consider yourself like these homes. You once needed to be gutted and disinfected to get rid of damage and prevent further deterioration. Waiting would have put you at further risk of being your own death hazard. Your home was unlivable until you suffered death by water to be renewed to live again, thus taking out the old man and replacing it with the new. Jesus had died to make this possible and you chose to die with Him in baptism to rebuild a new dwelling in your heart.
Now consider our community. Eventually, those piles and piles of trash will no longer be seen, but there will still be piles and piles of trash within the sinful hearts of men. Water can cause the death of many things; however, through Christ, water is the death that empties the trash to replace it with newness of life. Our community needs this message of everlasting rebuilding. It is the heart’s gateway to an indestructible, deathless home made available by Christ’s death. It is why we rejoice on this Lord’s day for if home is where the heart is, then when the heart is with Christ, the home is alive!
Prayer:
Mighty Lord, how blessed it is to have experienced death by water! This was not a death of destruction, but to give me a renewed life for an everlasting home. It is Christ’s death that has opened this door and made me alive. I will proclaim this to my community so that they too may be baptized into Christ, throwing away the filth of sin within their hearts for an imperishable home. Thank you that I can rejoice in His death today with unlevened bread and fruit of the vine. Amen.
Truth in love,
Heather
Truth in Love 