Taking Faith Home
RSS Feed
Through Baptism You Have Been Raised With Christ
Read: Colossians 3:1-11.
This passage begins with baptismal imagery (“you have been raised with Christ”) that had already been established in verse 2:12: “When you were buried with him in baptism, you were already raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.” It is important to see the baptismal life in chapter three not as a rejection of bodily, earthly things, but affirming the higher calling in this daily life. In baptism we put to death—repent of—the sin that dwells within and among us (vv. 5-9). We are freed from looking for personal glory (v. 3) to care for others in a way that sees all as united in Christ whether “Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free” (v. 11). What a gift of life: in baptism we are freed from focusing on ourselves—from looking for personal recognition in life—so that the whole body can be served with love. Our lives are hidden in Christ yet also visible as a people united in Christ. Therefore, your life is freed from sin so that you are able to serve others. In what ways do you feel freed in Christ to serve others?
Pray: Gracious Lord Jesus, thank you for freeing me from the need for personal recognition so that I can recognize the need of others. Amen.