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.
- Romans 6:4
Netflix used to be best known for sending DVDs through the mail. Amazon once exclusively sold books. YouTube originally started as a dating website. And before it was marketed as modeling clay for children, Play-Doh was initially sold as a cleaner to remove coal residue from wallpaper.
All these companies, for various reasons, reinvented themselves over time. They found new purpose, a new way to exist in the world—and because of their imagination and their willingness to change, they saw growth they had never imagined.
When the Bible describes life in Christ, it explains it as just such a conversion—not a slight modification of behavior, but a total transformation. Believers in Jesus are baptized in water, and that immersion symbolizes a spiritual death and resurrection—when we emerge from the waters of baptism, we do so as new creations. Even as Jesus was raised from the dead, we are raised to new life in Christ.
Longtime disciples of Jesus need that reminder: there is supposed to be a marked difference between your life before you were saved and your life after you come to faith. Salvation is not something you tack onto an existing lifestyle, but something that changes everything.
If secular corporations can be transformed, surely the same can be true for God’s children. May we be known not for minor modifications, but for total transformation.
No comments:
Post a Comment