GodReflection: How About A Better Way?
For a child to die, or a parent, or even a pet, burial makes the reality of death final. Not even a follower of Jesus expects resurrection of a loved one prior to the final blast of death awakening trumpets. Death marks the end of a relationship.
The good news is Jesus’ death, burial, resurrection, and ascension, brings hope and life to the finality of earthly death. From the early pages of The Acts of the Apostles, the ascension of Jesus, the apostle Peter’s sermon, and the arrival of the Holy Spirit the story of the church begins. On that same day we begin to see believers contact the cleansing blood of Jesus and received the Holy Spirit through the act of baptism.
Early in Acts chapter eight Saul of Tarsus—the self-appointed “Religion Protector”—is focused on the elimination of anyone who belonged to the way of Jesus. That is—until he meets Jesus in a miraculous bright light experience while on a mission trip to Damascus to arrest Jesus-followers.
After his own baptism, Saul—now the God-called apostle Paul—begins to use the analogy of death, through burial, and resurrection to describe the act of baptism. So, Jesus’ death becomes our death when we sign on to follow his way—the better way.
As a young boy when I gave my life to Jesus, I died to the past, buried my sins, and received resurrection by the Spirit to live in power and to look forward to the time when death is an antique. I committed to follow Jesus’ way.
The apostle writes to Christ followers in Rome and Colossae:
We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life (Romans 6:4) . . . having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead (Colossians 2:12.)
My old self with original sin attached—dead and buried—in Jesus—death through baptism. My sins remained powerless dead in the grave, they no longer live to control my life. “Old I”—am I no more. How about that for finality?
I died a powerless me and arose with Spirit power. I died to sin and arose to live in a state of ‘constant-clean’ through the blood of Jesus. I buried an old self and emerged from the grave with a new life. (Sorry, but the sinner’s prayer alone, without baptism misses the imagery of burial, cleansing, resurrection, and omits the point in time of the receipt of the Holy Spirit.)
For the non-believer buried has no positive vibes. However, as a believer in
Jesus buried is a word that marks a better way. It reminds me that I left the power of Satan’s control buried in the waters of baptism. I walk with power from a past burial in anticipation of the next.
It reminds me that after my funeral burial I will rise to life eternal. I will live forever in the presence of God, the Son, the Holy Spirit, and the most fantastic people I knew on earth.
All the above is the only entry ramp to begin to walk in a better way—the only way to have life without death. However, my wordcount has run out and I must wait until the next post to explore how God came to live among us as Jesus to show us how His death demands our daily death to self or there is no better way.
How about it—let’s take His death seriously and allow ourselves to die so we can live now and forever.
Stay tuned.
Dr. Gary J. Sorrells
A GodReflection on His Death Our Death.
God Reflection 