30-Day Personal Devotion Challenge Day 12

Good Morning Church Family – Day 12

Read Colossians 2:11-12

Devo Thought: When does eternal life begin? Let’s be honest. One of the most appealing aspects of Christianity is the fact that God has promised us that if we put our faith in Christ, we will live with Him and all of those who put their faith in Him forever in paradise, a place without pain and suffering and tears. So, when do we get to reap the benefit of our faith in Jesus? I think we often make the mistake of believing that this is what happens to us once we die. Eternal life begins when this life I’m living ends. I’d argue that this notion is mistaken. Jesus states clearly in John 10 that he came that we might have life and have it abundantly. He doesn’t qualify that statement with, “Oh, but you can only have it when you die.” He seems to indicate that it is possible to experience abundant life here and now. Paul seems to be saying something like this in our passage today. He writes, You were “buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.” What is interesting about this passage is that all of the verbs are in the past tense, which indicates that all of this has already been done. In other words, in some sense, though our earthly body breaks down and decays, we have been raised to a new abundant and eternal life. Why does this matter to Paul and to me and you? It means that we have access to this new abundant and eternal life. We can already experience joy, peace, and hope because our life isn’t bound up with this earthly body but with resurrected body of Jesus himself. No more fear of sin, death, or decay. Just free, joy-filled abundant, eternal life.

Prayer – Let us give thanks to God for the gift of eternal life.