What are signs of spring where you live? In Northern California, spring means it stops raining. In North Dakota, the snow melts. In Arizona, baseball teams (and their fans) flock there for spring training. While everyone else is celebrating a fresh start during spring, Christians are thinking about death.
During Lent, believers spend a little more time realizing how huge of a deal their salvation is. Jesus lived. Jesus suffered. Jesus died. Did you know that during spring you could think about the part of you that is dead too?
“We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been set free from sin” (Romans 6:6,7 NIV).
When Jesus died on a cross, you were crucified too. All of your angry thoughts, sarcastic comments, hurtful words, and vicious actions were hung on that cross with him. Your old self, your body of sin, died and was buried with Jesus.
When Jesus rose from the dead, the new you came with him. True, while you are still alive, you will still sin, but it’s no longer your identity. You now have eternal life. You are free.
Chomp on this!
Parents: Explain how a tulip bulb that stays dormant in the winter and then blooms into a new flower in spring is sort of like how we who were dead in sin became new and beautiful to God because of Jesus.
