Waiting and watching as death drew closer, I sat beside and watched each breath. The chest rose, then fell; I waited to see, “Was that the last breath?” The final breath came and a haunting, stillness followed. A soul who seemed larger than life, someone whom I thought would always be, was gone. Spiritual truth became physical reality. There was no punching through some unknown wall to draw that life back into existence. It’s from that context that I read Paul’s words:
Count yourself dead to sin and alive to God in Jesus Christ. Romans 6:11.
If we know Jesus Christ as Lord, then the power of sin is dead within us. If we try to grab hold of sin in hopes that it brings us life, we grasp in vain. Sin is without breath; once we are found in Christ, sin has absolutely nothing to offer us. It takes us down dead end roads and spent….so why do I forget that? Thank God for his grace!
But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:22,23.
Lord, thank you that you have called me to live in a richness and beauty that can only be found in you. Forgive me when my appetite for you is weak and small. Forgive me when I choose death over life, sin over righteousness. Thank you Lord, that when you see me, you see the righteousness of Christ. Lord, be my master and teach me what it means to pursue your holiness in all its wonder. Amen.
Klueh
Sixty-six books in a year 