March 21

Romans 6:12-23

When I hear the word “slave” many thoughts and images come to my mind.  It races from thinking about the Israelites in Egypt to the slave trade routes to the battle over human rights in the United States.  The image of a slave is often one of people who are in bondage to another, forced to work or live a life that they would not choose.  In the 6th Chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans, he takes a different approach.  One thing that we all can relate to is the pressure of being a slave to sin, allowing the “instruments of wickedness” to control our decisions and actions.  He reminds us that through grace we are saved from our sins, given the opportunity to turn away from them, because we are given a gift from God, “eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

But instead of taking a cheerful route, proclaiming the joy that can be found in God’s grace, he invites us now into another state of slavery.  He challenges us to offer our bodies “in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness.”  By doing this, Paul is inviting us into a life that gives life, allowing us to truly live, even though it is often much easier to perform the easy wrong when compared to the hard right.  Jesus never said that living a righteous life would be easy, and Paul is simply echoing that principle.  We must acknowledge that we are saved by God’s grace and begin to live a life that is more difficult, frustrating when not admired by those around us, but rewarded with “eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”