Life and Death

I would like for you to take a moment and think of Christ’s death on the cross and His resurrection. In Romans 6, Paul is making a parallel between Christ’s death and our death through baptism and Christ’s resurrection and our resurrection to a new life of loyalty to God. It is liberation. It is a destruction of “the body of sin” and “freedom from bondage.” “For he that is dead is freed from sin.” Romans 6:7. There is no service to sin and your members are used “as instruments of righteousness unto God.”

As I was reading through Romans 6, there were a couple of phrases that had the same tenor and theme. “Let not sin reign,” “that ye should not obey it,” “yield in your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin.” Sounds like bondage.

I really thought about it. How can something have dominion over you? Dominion is defined as “sovereign or supreme authority or power to direct, control, use.” Romans 6:14 suggests that sin can have dominion over us. Consider it. Can sin have authority and control over us? What thing is there as we are working throughout our day as moms, wives and homemakers that may keep us in bondage?

Daily, what are we choosing? Who are we serving? Who are we obeying? (Just some thought questions.) We are servant to whom or what we obey. If we indulge selfishness, anger, materialism or any other sin, we have put ourselves in a position of serving sin. And if we are serving sin, we are not serving Christ. A Christian will feel the temptation of sin, for the flesh fights against the Spirit, but the Spirit works against the flesh. It is a constant battle. Here is where Christ’s help is needed. Our human weakness unites with divine power and battles are being won. Victories obtained by faith through Christ Jesus.

As I thought about the above phrases, this is also what jumped out at me. “Freedom from sin,” “dead unto sin, “servants of righteousness,” and “members as instruments of righteousness unto God.” Praise the Lord!

Paul sets before us two options--life and death. Deuteronomy 30:19 says:

…that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, [and] that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he [is] thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

When we as moms choose life, this life is passed on to our children. What a legacy to leave our children. A legacy of loyalty, faith, obedience and love to God.