In T.I.'s song, "Dead and Gone," Justin Timberlake sings:
Ohh, I've been travelin' on this road too long
Just tryin' to find my way back home
The old me is dead and gone, dead and gone
And ohh, I've been travelin' on this road too long
Just tryin' to find my way back home
The old me is dead and gone, dead and gone.
This is what practicing resurrection is all about. Sounds awfully similar to Paul in the New Testament, "I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race." Paul makes two things clear Philippians 3:10-14:
- In order to experience resurrection we must die with Christ.
- Living the resurrection life is a journey; it's not going to happen overnight.
Baptism is the beginning of this journey. It marks a shift in a person's life. This shift is a radical conversion, meaning "to the root." Giving our lives to Christ means that we are changed to the root of our existence; new roots mean new fruit.
This past Sunday Estella, Angel, and Brisa were baptized at Embrace. Their mom, Olga, joined the church alongside them. The three girls are sisters, yet they all decided separately they wanted to be baptized. They've learned about following Jesus at Common Good, Embrace, Aldersgate Camp, and Asbury.
Sunday was full of resurrection joy. The three girls went under the water, signifying that the "old me is dead and gone." Then they rose up from the water as if they were rising from their graves to a new resurrected life with Jesus. Praise God for new beginnings and fresh starts!
Â
