Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. Romans 6:4 (New American Standard Bible)
Living in a rural part of Arkansas I was recently driving my four-year-old granddaughter home from school. We passed an old farmhouse that was abandoned and falling to pieces. Elizabeth said, “Look grandpa, that house is broken.” It took a second for it to register but I then realized what she meant. The house was beyond help. It was in such bad shape repairs would not have helped much. The old house needed to be razed and a new foundation and home built on the spot.
The parallel is striking from a Christian point of view. Regardless of where or how we are born sin begins within our lives and as we grow the decay becomes much worse. The only thing we can do to help ourselves is make our ‘houses’ livable but that leaves the bare necessities. There is no comfort. Fixing our own lives leaves us with dirt floors, drafts, outdoor plumbing and mud in the yards. Patching up the old homestead doesn’t work. When we come to the conclusion that our own effort at fixing our house just isn’t working we can ask the Master Builder to build us a new one. When we ask, and only then, will He come onto our property, raze our feeble and rotting efforts and lay a new foundation. From that point on He will build a beautiful mansion out of our lives and will be at work adding to its beauty into eternity.
The Apostle Paul calls this being made into new creatures in Christ. All the old things from our past that held our time and attention begin to lose their luster as we see how the Master Builder is making our new lives into a showplace. He takes us out of the mud of our sin, cleans us and puts our feet into halls of marble. He brings us into newness of life. It is indeed a place of beauty and rest. He has prepared this newness for all who call on Him. The marvelous thing about what He allows us to live in is He’s already bought and paid for it.
Ken
www.devotionstoday.blogspot.com
Living in a rural part of Arkansas I was recently driving my four-year-old granddaughter home from school. We passed an old farmhouse that was abandoned and falling to pieces. Elizabeth said, “Look grandpa, that house is broken.” It took a second for it to register but I then realized what she meant. The house was beyond help. It was in such bad shape repairs would not have helped much. The old house needed to be razed and a new foundation and home built on the spot.
The parallel is striking from a Christian point of view. Regardless of where or how we are born sin begins within our lives and as we grow the decay becomes much worse. The only thing we can do to help ourselves is make our ‘houses’ livable but that leaves the bare necessities. There is no comfort. Fixing our own lives leaves us with dirt floors, drafts, outdoor plumbing and mud in the yards. Patching up the old homestead doesn’t work. When we come to the conclusion that our own effort at fixing our house just isn’t working we can ask the Master Builder to build us a new one. When we ask, and only then, will He come onto our property, raze our feeble and rotting efforts and lay a new foundation. From that point on He will build a beautiful mansion out of our lives and will be at work adding to its beauty into eternity.
The Apostle Paul calls this being made into new creatures in Christ. All the old things from our past that held our time and attention begin to lose their luster as we see how the Master Builder is making our new lives into a showplace. He takes us out of the mud of our sin, cleans us and puts our feet into halls of marble. He brings us into newness of life. It is indeed a place of beauty and rest. He has prepared this newness for all who call on Him. The marvelous thing about what He allows us to live in is He’s already bought and paid for it.
Ken
www.devotionstoday.blogspot.com
