Baptized into Christ’s Life.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

“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

Paul was a wounded, flawed man.  Two failed marriages, alcoholism, running from problems in jobs and relationships…all were in his resume.  He died penniless after years of poor health.

However, as I stood in his apartment a few days after his death, his baptismal quilt told a different story.  It told the story of a man who had met Jesus through Christian friends, of a man who had repented of his sins and who had been baptized into a new life in Jesus Christ, of a man who had been reconciled with his son whom he had deserted, and of a man who had found peace with God through the blood of Jesus.

Although he had given up drinking, Paul continued to struggle until he died.  Old habits died hard. However, he never lost his faith in the forgiveness of Jesus, and the Lord, who is faithful when we are faithless, kept Paul as one of His very own, a lamb of His flock and a child of the King.

Your life may be full of sin, and sinful habits, but there is a God who can rescue you from your own destruction.  A God who sent His only Son to die upon a cross, and rise again, that you might die to sin and live to Him forever.

Yes, Paul was a flawed and sinful man, but he was baptized into the blood of Jesus, and because of Jesus, Paul is one of God’s very own for all eternity.

Paul, rest in the peace of God until we are all joined together in the great resurrection, when Jesus comes again!

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, CO