“For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.” ~Romans 6:14

“For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.” ~Romans 6:14

How many of us like rules? Like crossing the streets ONLY at the crosswalks? That is infuriating. I posted this a few years ago, but I still break this rule (much to the chagrin of my husband). At least there is a reason for that one. What about the ‘can’t swim for 45 min after eating'? Parents made that up, I’m sure. Child-me hated that rule.

But imagine that your life was governed by hundreds of rules every day. That is what the Jewish people faced. The Ten Commandments were only a smidgen of the whole law, which contain 613 in total. SIX HUNDRED THIRTEEN. But, God had a purpose for this. He wanted mankind to fail. What? That sounds..I don’t know…mean. The law was so hard to keep that it was impossible. God’s plan continues….

Breaking the law was sin. God says that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” God made it so all would sin so that He could show mercy to all. (Romans 11:32) This is heavy stuff.

The glorious bright spot in this is Christ! Because we were created in Him, we all died when He died. The best part is that when He was raised from the dead, so were we. He did all the work, He bore all the shame, He suffered the wages of sin for all - our penalty was paid. We were rescued out of eternal death by Jesus Christ. Now we bear fruit. Whether you’re a pear or a peach, lemon or lime, you are created as God’s masterpiece, specifically YOU, designed to reflect the love of God.