Week 1 | Tuesday | Romans 6

So the one verse I have underlined in my bible from Romans 6 is the last: "23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

And I remember when I underlined it: back when I was around 20-22, our street-wise, tough-talking youth leader-turned contemporary young adult semi-pastor did a sermon on (I guess) grace and forgiveness. He had a bunch of watermelons and a big sword and I think made the reference to sin being one or the other. You can guess what he did to one with the other in front of a room full of teens/young adults.

And my problem since then has always been giving sin to big a focus. I have a friend who has told me time and again that a fuller understanding of sin leads to a better appreciation of grace: and I can see that it can; but for me iit seems to just lead to a fuller understanding of sin. A bigger focus. Like it was looming at me from the side of my vision.

And verse 23 (above) reminds me of that: the good bit, the gift of God, was for a long time too unreal, too conceptual, too vapor-like to catch and hold on to.

Again, I think I've done myself no favours by underlining that verse only:

Rom. 6:8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

There was an Ashley Judd film a few years ago called Double Jeopardy: her hubby framed her for murdering him and ran off with the insurance money; so then she escaped/got released and did indeed murder him. It very, very nicely explained the concept of the double jeopardy rule of law (once tried for a crime once, you can't be re-tried for the same crime); and in the same way helps me out here:

Jesus has been there and it's dealt with: death will not visit Him in the end (and here's the kicker) and so He is not controlled by it.

It's like I own a mansion and I've always known there are many rooms in it, some with great views. But now (and I guess, for the rest of my life) it's about visiting each of those rooms and sitting in an armchair by the window reading a book as the sun goes down to better understand the awesomeness of what I'm already in possession of. And start living like I know it.