Removing the Old Life
How do we access our new life in Christ?
Verse of the Day
‘For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.’
Today’s Devotional
If I can trust God that I am saved from eternal separation from Him, and that I will get to spend eternity in heaven…why is it so hard to believe that I have a new life in Christ today? In this earthly life? In the daily grind of living in a fallen world?
No, seriously. I’m literally asking this question. Because some days it is hard to believe. I still do battle every day with my sinful nature. I am constantly at odds with my selfishness and laziness and need for comfort. I have to pray many times each day for the knowledge of God’s will for my day and the power to carry that out. Because left to my own devices, I am selfish.
In the verse right before today’s verse, Paul mentions spiritual circumcision – the cutting away of your sinful nature. Pairing that with today’s verse where we are told that we have a new life in Christ, I thought of the surgery used to remove some forms of skin cancer. Here’s the description:
“[This type of] surgery involves removing a skin cancer one layer at a time and examining these layers under a microscope immediately after they are removed. This procedure allows for a close examination of each layer of skin to detect cancer cells. It also allows a minimal amount of tissue to be removed while making sure that all the cancer cells are removed. The surgeon removes the skin cancer and a small amount of healthy tissue, one layer of skin at a time. Each tissue layer is prepared and examined under the microscope for cancer cells. Surgery is complete when no more cancer cells are detected.”
I believe that my new life is Christ becomes more and more of a reality as more of my sinful “cancer” is removed. This process only happens as I devote time and attention to being with the Surgeon. He is cutting away the old, broken me, and leaving the healthy parts of me that He created in the first place. I think it is really important to recognize that this process is not going to feel pleasant in the middle of it. It is not comfortable to let go of the parts of me that I’ve grown accustomed to, even if those parts are not serving me well. And even in the discomfort, I must be willing to come to the Surgeon and trust that His work is in my best interests.
By being baptized, I am making an outward, public display of my inner belief and acceptance that Jesus Christ is Lord of my life. My immersion in water is a physical representation of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. New life is mine to claim when I accept Jesus. I believe that the process of claiming this new life takes time and intention.
I’m picturing it this way: Let’s say I have a winning lottery ticket. In order to claim any part of my prize, I have to make time to call into the claims office. But this prize does not work like many other prizes. Every time I want access to some of my winnings (which is often because I am constantly in need of something), I have to call in. As soon as I call, they transfer some of my winnings into an account that I can easily access. I’m not allowed to access all of my winnings at once. I have to ask and receive small amounts each time. Because in this scenario, the claims office knows I can only handle a little of the prize at one time.
In my experience, my new life in Christ is not a magical, instantaneous transformation in this earthly life. It is daily surgery to remove the old, and a daily call into the “Claims Office” to access the new. If this were not true, there would be no need to discuss spiritual infancy or spiritual maturity. So today, I choose to allow the Surgeon to have access to my sin, and I will call out to Jesus for today’s portion of my new life.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
How is your relationship with Jesus different today than it was when you were baptized?
How can you live today as though you really do have a new life in Jesus?
What do you need to leave in the grave, or in the Surgeon’s hands?
How have you noticed the discomfort of removing parts of your old life?
What do you need to claim today?