That's Not What It's For Anymore (Friday Devotional)

“No longer present your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness.”

- Romans 6:13

Recently Lindsey and I were having lunch at the home of a family from our church. While the burgers were cooking, one of the little girls in the family offered us a tour of the house (a tour which, by the way, we had taken the last time we’d come over.)  Naturally, I accepted her outstretched hand and let her lead us through the different rooms of the house.

When we got to her room, she showed us all her stuffed animals, drawings, and various odds and ends. When she got to one particular souvenir, a necklace, I remembered what she had told me last time, that it was her good luck charm. This time, however, she neglected to say anything about its lucky properties, pointing out only its bright colors. So, wanting to show what a good listener I’d been last time, I said, “When I was here before, you also told me it was a good luck charm, remember?”

She could not have looked more puzzled. For a couple of seconds, she was visibly wracking her brain, trying to remember a time when she’d said that about her necklace. Finally, she shrugged and matter-of-factly said, “That’s not what it’s for anymore.”

In Romans 6:13, the apostle Paul encourages believers to think of our bodies in a similar way, as instruments given new purpose in Christ. In the days before you knew Jesus, he says, your body was an “instrument of wickedness,” something you used and abused in pursuit of whatever would satisfy you for the moment. The body, which God created and declared to be good, was never evil, but it was an accessory to your sin.

But in Christ, that’s no longer the case—or at least it doesn’t have to be. Instead of seeing your body as a tool for sin and a victim of its consequences, Scripture encourages you to present yourself to God as someone made new in Christ, someone brought from death to life, someone whose purpose is now found in righteousness. Instead of using your eyes to lust after others, in Christ you can use them to look for opportunities to help people. Instead of using your hands to strike someone in anger, you can use them to hold someone who is hurting. Instead of using your brain only to enrich yourself, you can use it to enrich the kingdom of God.

The Bible says that in Christ you are a new creation, that you have been redeemed and raised to new life. When old temptations reemerge and familiar urges demand to be satisfied, remember that in Christ, your body has a new purpose. When you are tempted to use your body to sin, Christ gives you the freedom to say, “That’s not what it’s for anymore.”