Choose Life
Scripture Reading — John 11:17-27
“I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even though they die.”
John 11:25
Today many TV shows offer new life in interesting ways: Tear down a needy family’s old house, and build them a beautiful, well-furnished new one. Throw away all of a person’s old clothes, and give them thousands of dollars to buy new ones for a new look. Present all kinds of ways to lose weight. Offer free cosmetic surgery. The promise in all these things, of course, is not just a makeover but something more: a new life. But do superficial fixes really bring the joy that people crave?
The new life Jesus speaks of goes much deeper. Two main questions help us understand and experience the new life that Christ offers:
First, do I trust in Jesus as my Savior? If I admit to God that I am a sinner, deserving only punishment, and if I have faith that by his death on the cross Jesus paid for my sin, then God’s promises are mine, and so is new life.
Second, do I promise to live for Jesus as the Lord of my life? Have I surrendered my wants and choices to Jesus’ will and what he wants of me? Do I cultivate a lifestyle in which the character of Christ is demonstrated in my speaking and doing? Do I pledge myself to grow in knowing God through Bible reading, prayer, and Christian fellowship?
If I answer yes, then Jesus empowers me by his Spirit to live and do these things, to the glory of God.
Lord Jesus, thank you for dying and rising so that I may live. Holy Spirit, help me to live joyfully, fully appreciative of the new life that is mine through your grace. Amen.
About the author — John Rozeboom
Rev. John Rozeboom is a retired pastor of the Christian Reformed Church and a former director of Christian Reformed Home Missions. Currently he is coaching and supporting elders, ministers, and a congregation in mission. John and Linda Rozeboom live in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and they have two married children and five grandchildren.
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