From Death Comes Life

"Today's Devotion" For June 7, 2005

Read: Romans 6:1-10; Psalm 119:129-136

FROM DEATH COMES LIFE

"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." (Rom. 6:4)

Yesterday was a most noteworthy day in the modern history of the world. The day, June 6, has tremendous significance for a whole generation of people all over the world. June 6 is the day in 1944, when the largest naval armada in the history of the world moved inexorably across the English Channel and deposited hundreds of thousands of Allied military personnel on the French Coast. Places like Normandy and Omaha Beach come to mind as we remember the devastation and death that faced those brave, frightened men as they came ashore in the face withering enemy fire. Their purpose was to finally free Europe and the world from the threat of Nazism and the designs of the German Fuehrer to "rule the world." It took over four long years to accomplish that purpose, and a million or more lives, but accomplish it they did. The sacrifices of so many lives brought new life and hope to a conquered and subjugated continent.

The whole idea of death being a precursor to life is exemplified in the story of a beautiful, mythical bird called a "Phoenix." This fabled bird is said to live for 600 to 800 years in the Arabian desert. At the end of its lifecycle, the myth says it throws itself on a funeral pyre to be burned up. From the ashes the "Phoenix" is said to arise in the newness of youth and live through another cycle of years. A "Phoenix" is often used as a symbol of immortality. Such a story, while fanciful, reveals humanity's need to defeat death. Yet death is the ultimate end of Sin, because disobedience to God brings His wrath and judgment. We die because we "fall short of the glory of God." We die because we're disobedient to our Father in heaven. We die because the "wages of Sin is death."

Yet, despite our sinful nature and our separation from God because of Sin, God's people in Jesus Christ don't fear death because we belong to Jesus by faith in His blood. What seems to be pure and utter foolishness to the world is the Cross of Jesus Christ - that in order for there to be life with God there must be a death. The ultimate death for Sin was Jesus' death on the Cross. St. Paul reminds the Romans Christians and us that each baptized child of God has shared in Jesus' death through baptism and has been "resurrected" with Him in that same baptism. Thus, in order for life with God to be a reality for anyone, we have to die in order for life to occur. By the grace and mercy of God, we are blessed to have been taken "from death to life," so that we might share the eternal mansions of our God and Father.

Prayer: Father, I thank You for Your gift of Life to me in Jesus Christ. By His death He paid the ultimate and complete price for my Sin. In Your grace, mercy, and love, You accepted His sacrifice by raising Him from the dead. In so doing You have let me know that in Him I have hope and the forgiveness of sins. New life is mine, as You raise me up into Your presence for the sake of Jesus. Help me to live my life full of joy and peace. Guide me in my service to You, gracious Father, so that others might hear the Good News, learn of Your love, and rejoice in Your presence in their lives. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
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--Pastor Boeck

Copyright © 2005 Rev. Richard J. Boeck, Jr. All rights reserved.