Devotion #5: An Unexpected Change
I love to watch movies. One of my greatest and worst qualities is that I am exceptionally good at guessing the ending to movies. Greatest because, if I am honest, I am not a big fan of surprises, and worst because my wife usually ends up irritated at me for spoiling the movie. A movie can really gain my respect if they can pull of a major twist and surprise me in the process. Some of my favorite movies do this quite well.
One of my favorite twists of all time is found in Scripture. It has to do with the eternal destination of our souls. Paul lays out this twist in Romans 6:20-23, “For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Humanity has only earned itself one thing: death. The minimum payment for our actions, disobedience, and sin is eternal separation from God in Hell. This is the expectation because it is what we earned, the foreshadowed end of humanity’s movie. The twist comes when God frees us from that sin. He paid the price through the work of Jesus Christ so that we could have freedom. Even though we have earned death, He gives us the free gift of life. Through confession that Jesus Christ is Lord and belief that He has risen from the dead, we receive the free gift of eternal life (Romans 10:9-10). It is a life following Christ now and forever in Heaven with God.
One of the things that Paul emphasizes here in this passage is what this gift for us means now. It can be easy to think of our salvation only coming into play after we die, almost like spiritual life insurance. Paul says it is much more than that. In fact, he emphasizes that you should see fruit or things that your newfound salvation produces in your life. He uses the word “sanctification” in verse 22. That word describes the process of becoming purified, holy, and set apart, living for God’s purpose in our lives every day. In essence, it refers to our growth process.
God does not save us only to leave us to our own devices. He does not throw us a life preserver and leave us in the midst of the ocean. He saves us and then helps us learn how to live moral and righteous lives for Him. This is the process of following Jesus Christ. God cares for us immensely and desires what is best for us, which is living the way He designed us to. So, this week, remain encouraged as you follow God. He saved you, and He is leading you to grow more and more in His ways.