It sounds strange finding life in death, but that is what happens when one becomes a
Christian.
Some years ago, Louise Fletcher penned words with which many of us easily identify.
Here is what she wrote:

I wish there were some wonderful place
Called the Land of Beginning Again,
Where all our mistakes and all our heartaches
Could be dropped like a shabby old coat at the door
And never be put on again.
For the Christian, the Land of Beginning Again is not merely a wish but a reality. It’s
possible that while we are alive physically, we are dead spiritually. At least that was the
condition of many in ancient Ephesus —and where we live as well. But there is hope. The
apostle Paul assures us, “And you He made alive, when you were dead through the trespasses
and sins…” (Ephesians 2:1).
Dead, yet made alive! Dead because of sin, but alive because of the death of Christ. How
does one find life in death? Here’s the way the apostle Paul explains it: “We were buried
therefore with Him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory
of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4).
When one submits to being buried in water, he says that he is burying his old life of sin
and being resurrected to a new life of obedience in Christ. It is a sharing in the death of Christ,
and sharing in His resurrected life.
We not only have a new life, we also have a new Helper—the Holy Spirit. Never
disparage the importance of baptism. In its wake comes our forgiveness and the Holy Spirit.
“And Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ
for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’” (Acts 2:38).
Have you found life in death? You can, you know.

John Gipson
Windsong church of Christ,
Little Rock, AR