But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code. – Roman 7:6

Today's Scripture Reading (April 22, 2024):  Romans 7

God's purpose is to write his law on our hearts. He doesn't want to eliminate our passions but to overwhelm us with new passions. His goal is to make us truly alive. We can conform to the Christian image in two ways. We can put our petty list of rules up on the door and follow them all the days of our lives so that we look like we are Christian, or we can die to ourselves. Death means that we allow God to remove the evil character that has ruled us for too long and permit him to place his character in our lives. The quest of the Christian journey is to have God's character formed in us so his passions can burn in us. And this is really what this idea of dying to self means. Life begins when we die to ourselves and are recreated in the likeness of God.

I love stories. That's probably why I like to listen to Tony Campolo speak. He's a good storyteller. Campolo admits that he's a dangerous man. According to one story he tells, he is particularly dangerous in elevators. Our society teaches us to turn around, face the doors, and stand quietly as we make our way up or down on an elevator. In his younger days, Tony was one of those guys who walked into a crowded elevator and said, "I suppose you're wondering why I called this meeting."

Once, when he was in an elevator in a New York Skyscraper with a group of serious-looking business people, he smiled and said, "Lighten up; we're going to be traveling together for quite a while. What do you say we sing?" Incredibly, they did. Tony wasn't sure if they were just intimidated by him or looking for some fun, but businessmen with attaché cases in their hands, businesswomen in their power suits, and Tony sang "You Are My Sunshine" in the elevator.

Tony got off on the seventieth floor, and one businessman got off with him and walked beside him down the hall. Tony turned to him and asked, "So, are you going to the same meeting I'm going to?"

The man turned and smiled. "Nah, I just wanted to finish the song."

The Bible says that God sings over us. Sometimes, we hear the song and want to chase God just to finish it. But, at other times, God's song of life eludes us. We are on a journey together that starts by simply admitting to ourselves that we want to live. It continues through our dying to self and allowing the character of God to be reborn in us. It allows us to be overwhelmed with the passion that only God can give us for this life. 

And I hope all we want to do is finish the song God has started in our lives and recognize the new way of the Spirit to which we have been invited.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Romans 8