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. (Rom. 6:5)
Expanded Passage: Romans 6:5-7
Fire can be beneficial to a forest. After the blaze, more sunlight, nutrients, and water are available. An additional benefit of fire can be found in the lodgepole pine forests of the Rocky Mountains. Lodgepole cones are covered with resin and only release their seeds after fire burns away that outer barrier. In a season with no fire, very few seeds are released to germinate. While the flames seem to bring death, they are necessary for new trees to be produced and life to continue.
Paul wrote about death; he also wrote about life. But for Paul, life comes after death, not the other way around. Sharing in Christ’s death creates a new person now. Before this death, we are slaves to sin. After this death, we are set free from it. Sharing in the death of Christ is required to bring about this freedom and new life in the present. It will also bring about our resurrection after life here is completed.
Crucifixion is not an easy choice. We want to hold on to the life we know. But Christ calls us to share in his suffering and his death. Only by choosing to die with him can we live a life free from sin’s bondage now. And it is only as we die with him now that we will share in the resurrection to come.
Pray for strength to embrace the suffering that dying with Christ brings.
Roland E. Cavanaugh is a Wesleyan pastor serving in North Carolina and administrator of an assistant living facility. He and his wife have ministered for thirty-five years.
© 2024 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
