New Things

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. (Romans 6:3-7 ESV). First let me mention a little disclaimer. Remember that I am not as proficient with technology as many of you may be. I am an “old dog” that doesn’t learn “new tricks” very easily. That being said, I have learned a new trick. When the technician came to hook up our electronics in the apartment, he said he had a much better way to make sure everything ran. He used lots of big, technological words, and ultimately explained that since all of my devices were Wi-Fi equipped, I could run everything off of one modem and router. That meant among other things that there would be fewer cables and less “permanence” as far as where I actually used the equipment. I have been doing some of this with my laptop and phone, but now everything runs off the same modem without wires. Amazing! Even the television is Wi-Fi equipped. I knew that, but didn’t really know how to use it effectively. Well, I have since come to learn how to “pair” my devices. So, I can actually pull something up on the computer and have it play on the TV. The sound and picture quality is so much better that it is amazing. In fact, I’ve got a piece playing in the background now that streams various pictures from some of the national parks and scenic vistas in our country with quiet instrumental music accompanying it. This is something new that is truly worth taking advantage of. The Apostle Paul talks about something new in our reading today. It is the “newness of life” in Christ. It is almost as if he is asking with incredulity how we could miss this incredible benefit of being justified. It is much the same attitude that you may have had when you read that I just now learned how to pair my devices. Well, until someone really tells us something and then proves it to be true, we all tend to look at the new information with skepticism. Our new life in Christ can be like that at times. We are new. We have died to the old ways of sin and death. We have no choice about that. Our flesh is being put to death and we are being raised to walk in newness of life. Just as Christ was resurrected from the dead, so we are in that process now. This means that even in my failures and fallings, I can rest assured he will use them to bring more life to my spirit. Every trial, every tragedy, every challenge of life is designed by our heavenly Father to make me newer than ever before. I like new things. I especially like being new! Be encouraged!