By Mark Grace, CCCNZ Ambassador
Ki te mea hoki kua honoa tatou ki a ia i runga i te ahua o tona matenga, ka honoa ano tatou ki a ia i runga i te ahua o tona aranga:
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.
Romans 6:5
Part 2 of 2:
Paul Windsor, commenting on holiness, noted the number of seniors in his first church as a pastor who would grieve over sin in their lives—sin that he, in a sense, thought was minor. He came to realise that holiness does that. When Jesus is large in our lives, our sin is serious.
When Paul wants to address the sinful behaviour of the Roman Christians in Romans 6:1-14, he points them first to the Saviour.
Notice what Paul doesn’t do. He doesn’t tell them to try harder. He doesn’t tell them to build better habits, or put boundaries in place, or simply encourage them in their strengths. He points them straight at the Saviour’s sacrifice and resurrection.
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.
This simple verse is full of profound implications. Our lives are united to Christ’s—in both his death and his resurrection.
One ordinary day is full of opportunities. Each day, we can look to Christ and be united in his death. It is full of opportunities to be with him in his death by dying to sinful desires and inclinations.
Each ordinary day is also filled with opportunities to be with him in his resurrection. We can rest in his eternal life, our validation and vindication. Each day is filled with opportunities to live by God’s power “that raised Jesus from the dead” and not in my own power.
Paul knows that the only way to change our own behaviour is to look to the saviour. Can I encourage you: take each day and see it as filled with opportunities to be with Christ in a death like his and in a resurrection like his.
