Being Alive

Do you believe that because you are saved you have nothing to fear?

What then are we to say? Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? - Romans 6:1-2

In today's reading from his letter to the Romans, Paul gives us a taste of our own reality.  He lets us know that he knows what we are thinking and doing.

We continue to do what we want, believing we have nothing to fear, since we are already saved.

It is kind of like having a Get out of Jail Free card from the Monopoly game.  But Paul is saying Christ didn't die so that we could sin.

God's grace may be offered freely, but we should have to do something different with our lives when we choose to accept it, shouldn't we?

Of course, we could always go on the assumption that God through Christ, will continue to forgive us for our indiscretions, so why not just live as we like?

I guess the problem is this.  When I sin, I choose to go against God.  In that instant, I have rejected Him and though He continues to love me and offer me salvation, I am in denial of His offering.

What if I should die at that moment?  What would become of me?

I think the focus is all wrong here.  It is not about seeking an escape from a life of sin only in time of death, but a change in our lives away from sin to have a better life now as well.

What if we live our whole lives as we choose, only to find out we missed an amazing opportunity to live more fully with God?

I think that is what Paul is trying to tell us.  When he had his conversion on the road, he saw life transformed into something new, something much more meaningful and remarkable.

We can have that too, through Christ, but we need to take our eyes off the wrong prize.  As Jesus tells us, the earthly things that we seek in our hearts are what will distract us from true life.

But if we never come to know that, all we have is sin.

That is too bad, because I would much rather be alive.

More to come...