I love the spring of the year. It’s like the world is waking up from a long winter’s nap, and in some ways it is. Those winter days can sometimes be cold and dark, and everything kind of seems gray and dull. But with spring time we often get to feel that pleasant warmth provided by the sun, and we get to see those beautiful bold colors provided by the blooming flowers, the trees, and the rest of God’s beautiful creation. In the spring time the world wakes up and new life is seen all around us. This reminds me of the new life that we can have in Christ Jesus.
How many times have you heard people talking about searching for purpose or meaning in life? How many times have you heard somebody say they wished they could start over as they think about all of the things they have done in their life? People struggle with things like this and if we will only look to God we can find the answers.
According to Ecclessiastes 12:13 our purpose here is to “fear God and keep His commandments.” This is to be mankinds all. But mankind has not always chosen to serve God. Since the first man and the first woman people have sinned. In fact, we “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We sin when we are “lured and enticed” by our own desires (James 1:14). We have made those choices and because of our sins the “wages,” or what is deserved because of our sins, is death (Romans 6:23). But thanks be to God because He has offered us the way to have new life. We see this gift in Romans 6:23 in that the “gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” It is all in Jesus. But how do we get into Jesus? In Acts 2:38 Peter said, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” We see in other supporting texts that we are baptized into Christ (Galatians 3:27). In Romans 6:3-4 we see that when we are baptized we are baptized into His death. We are buried with Him in baptism and we are to rise to walk in newness of life. In order for any of us to have that new life we have to turn to God, follow His commands, have our sins washed away, and walk daily in the new life for Him. In Christ we have salvation, we have the Church, we have every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3). Let us all seek to have that new life in Him and live it out every day of our lives.
Derek Broome