Nougat 9

Sometimes a single verse is a challenge. For without the benefit of accompanying texts, it is possible to lose the context. In the interest of brevity, I yielded with today’s Holy Nougat, but I will provide some context in the reflection.

“and I died. I found that the commandment which was intended to bring me life actually brought me death.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭7:10‬ ‭GW‬‬

Of course, the starkness of the phrase, ”and I died”, was also somewhat attention-grabbing. Without the background text, one might have been inclined to wonder whether it was a resurrection message. It isn’t. Rather, Paul in his message to the Roman believers, attempts to explain the challenges posed by the Law. He noted that whereas it is The Law that convicted him of his sinfulness; knowledge of the law also proved to an enticement for him TO sin.

What a challenge – that which should bring us Life can become a catalyst for Death! Paul continued by noting that yielding to Sin brought Spiritual Death. Not the kind that Jesus mentioned in His analogy regarding the fallen grain of wheat; but that kind of Death that will separate us from God’s Love.

So how do we ‘escape’ Death’s clutches and experience abundant Life beyond Spiritual Death? (This is the Eternal Life question).

It starts -and ends- with Love

God’s Love

Our Love

God’s Love birthed us. In opting to create humans as ‘Mini-Me‘, God made a declaration of Love. The kind of Love that ordered the galaxies in space and provided this perfectly equipped planet on which we could live. We may have opted to thwart God’s Love , well let’s say abuse God’s Love; but even then God had a plan.

For God’s Love saves us.

Plain and simple. While we were still sinners Christ became human, exemplified God’s Love and chose physical Death so we have the option to forego Spiritual Death. Through His physical Death and Resurrection, we once again have access to Life beyond Death (for which we were originally created). Then we will dwell beyond the physical form, and live forever in spiritual realms. God’s Love In Jesus makes this possible.

Our love is a response to God’s Love, and the manifestation of God’s Love, Jesus Christ. We are the product of Love conceived at Creation and birthed in this season. Because we are the product of God’s Love; we also have capacity to love. By choosing Love; God’s Love in us; we choose the potential for selflessness that defeats deadly traps of sin.

So we do die.

First by awareness of and our yielding to the temptation presented by the Law. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23a). And that happens a lot. (Where God’s laws intended to protect us convicts and tries us and others condemn us). But thanks be to God, there’s more to that verse.

God’s gift of Love brings us back to Life and Love and leads us to the second way in which we die. For we then die to the power of the temptations set before us. That is only attainable in Christ! And in living with and by Christ, we find our Hearts overflow with Love for others, and our love for God grows stronger and stronger.

Is there value in the commandments/laws? Yes indeed. We find however that when consumed with God’s love, we once again see them as protective mechanisms against sin and death rather than agents of Death.

So there is value in the single verse; provided it’s in the context of the larger narrative. In the nougat we find the kernel of the larger than life message, God’s Love that forever conquers Spiritual Death is ours for the receiving.

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May all we seek be found in Christ