Living in the Spirit
June 20, 2014

 Scripture Reading: Romans 6:1-11 

For whoever has died is freed from sin. But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 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.  – Romans 6:7-11 

My definition of “sin” in modern nomenclature is being out of synch with God. More traditional descriptors are missing the mark or being separated from God. According to our scripture today, death frees us from sin. At that point, it is too late to worry about it. Whatever will result will result.  By becoming a part of Christ death, however, we also become a part of his resurrection. We enter into that state of being when we accept him as our Lord and Savior. But notice the next admonition but the life he lives, he lives to God. Death through Christ is not a door closing but a whole new life opening.

I don’t think I grasp what that meant until my bad knee got really bad. Being fairly immobile, I gained a lot of weight. My first goal, after getting that knee replaced, was to set about losing the excess weight. Nothing I tried worked. I was so out of shape that every exercise I tried resulted in negative outcomes. For some, eating less might result in weight loss by itself but, for me, it had to be combined with exercise. I was hopeless. My doctor referred me for physical therapy and that helped, but it was time limited and did not take me to the next level. I walked out of my last PT visit about as depressed as I have ever been. Got in my car and prayer without thinking, “God, what do I do now?” The immediate answer I got back surprised me. It was, “Realize you have a terminal illness—obesity, and live like it.” And that is exactly what I have worked at doing ever since. I have loss the excess weight, am in better shape than I have been in years, and my life is dedicated to wholeness—oneness—justice among all peoples.

Being out of synch with God is a terminal illness that leads only to misery and suffering and ennui. Dying with Christ lifts us out of that muck and lets us live again.

Prayer: Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.