Made Alive

June 25th, 2022
by Todd Smith

Romans 6:4
We were buried with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the father, so we too may walk in newness of life.

Ephesians 2:4-5
⁴But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, ⁵made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved

How would you convince someone you are alive? In 2015 there was a guy named Gheorghe Stribu who tried to renew his identity card. However, the Roman officials told him he had died eight years ago. It took a year for the officials to acknowledge their mistake that Gheorghe was surely alive. This story should remind us about being alive for Christ. When entering into a relationship with Christ, we have the opportunity of living the new life that Jesus intends for us to live.

The problem is, sometimes we find ourselves in a position like Gheorghe. Can we prove to others that we are alive in Christ? There are many times that scripture describes us as sick people or even dead. This is because sin has caused us to be separated from God, and have caused us to go against the life that God desires us to have. Maybe we still have bad habits. Maybe we are faced with the choice between reading God's word or a night of scrolling through hours of social media. So what proof could we offer that we are alive in Christ?

No amount of behavior modification or attitude adjustment will set us right with God. In fact, it's the other way around. Accepting God's grace results in a new way of life. If we have little evidence that we are alive in Christ, the first thing we must do is reflect on God's amazing grace to us. Every positive change we make after that is just our "thank you" to God. Show others you are alive and living for Christ.

Prayer:
God I pray that I am living for you, and if there are any sinful desires or habits within my heart I ask that you show them to me. I want to live for you.