"Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."
Romans 6:4
I like this imagery here... I don't think that it always hits me that that is really not just imagery. In some very real ways, God raises us from the dead. We are basically walking corpses when we are in the thrall of sin. We lose that spark of life, the hope and faith we have when we look towards the future. And, through baptism, we become alive again... reborn, raised from the dead, given another chance. And, luckily for those of us who have sinned since our baptism, every week when we go to Sacrament meeting, our new lives are renewed. We renew those promises that we make at baptism, and so, really, we get a new chance every week. :) I think God planned it that way because he knew how easy it is for us to sin. ... Doesn't mean, of course, that we can go through our lives doing whatever we want and trusting the sacrament to take care of it. There still has to be repentance (and for big things it has to be through the bishop), and some sincerity when you are making those promises... but that is really to be expected. God doesn't want us to be walking corpses, see? He doesn't want us to go through each day hating ourselves and wondering if things will ever get better... he wants them to BE better. He wants us to be able to smile and look forward to the day, rather than dread it. That's all that the whole sin thing is about anyway. It isn't something that God forbids for a kick. He knows that sin poisons our souls, and makes us sick and hopeless. Some people think that is just the human condition, and that the answer is drugs or therapy so that we realize that sick and hopeless is okay. :) But it isn't. Repentance will make us healthier than we have been in a long time. And happier... and that is all that God wants... for us to be happy, forever. So when he raises us from the dead, and gives us a new chance at life, he asks us to walk in the path of happiness for a change... to give it a try and see if it works better than that quicksand we've been trying to swim in. :) Maybe we should listen.
Romans 6:4
I like this imagery here... I don't think that it always hits me that that is really not just imagery. In some very real ways, God raises us from the dead. We are basically walking corpses when we are in the thrall of sin. We lose that spark of life, the hope and faith we have when we look towards the future. And, through baptism, we become alive again... reborn, raised from the dead, given another chance. And, luckily for those of us who have sinned since our baptism, every week when we go to Sacrament meeting, our new lives are renewed. We renew those promises that we make at baptism, and so, really, we get a new chance every week. :) I think God planned it that way because he knew how easy it is for us to sin. ... Doesn't mean, of course, that we can go through our lives doing whatever we want and trusting the sacrament to take care of it. There still has to be repentance (and for big things it has to be through the bishop), and some sincerity when you are making those promises... but that is really to be expected. God doesn't want us to be walking corpses, see? He doesn't want us to go through each day hating ourselves and wondering if things will ever get better... he wants them to BE better. He wants us to be able to smile and look forward to the day, rather than dread it. That's all that the whole sin thing is about anyway. It isn't something that God forbids for a kick. He knows that sin poisons our souls, and makes us sick and hopeless. Some people think that is just the human condition, and that the answer is drugs or therapy so that we realize that sick and hopeless is okay. :) But it isn't. Repentance will make us healthier than we have been in a long time. And happier... and that is all that God wants... for us to be happy, forever. So when he raises us from the dead, and gives us a new chance at life, he asks us to walk in the path of happiness for a change... to give it a try and see if it works better than that quicksand we've been trying to swim in. :) Maybe we should listen.
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