DAILY WORD

Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death,

so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father,

so we too might walk in newness of life.

– Romans 6:4

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Today is the first day of spring. The season of spring brings with it a reminder that the weariness of winter does not last indefinitely. During the season of spring, the present creation flourishes with beauty and wonder, which serve as a foretaste of the new creation to come. The season of spring is a time of renewal and restoration, a time in which love and hope are rekindled. This sentiment is expressed beautifully in the Song of Solomon, “Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away; for now the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come.”

It is appropriate that on this first day of spring, the day we celebrate the newness of creation, that we also celebrate the newness of life that we have been called to walk in. Paul reminds us that our old self has been crucified with Christ, so that we are no longer enslaved to sin. And if we have died with Christ, we will also live with Christ. A whole new way of living has been opened up to us – a whole new way of being. This work of transformation is an ongoing process, a daily journey full of adventure and wonder. Jesus calls us to die daily to sin, which means that we are also called to live daily in the newness of life we now share with him.

As we continue our Lenten journey, a time in which we focus on the practices of self-denial and spiritual discipline, let us be reminded that Resurrection Day is coming. We are being transformed from glory to glory into the image and likeness of Jesus Christ!

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