Died Together
2 Timothy 2:11 (CEB) · Passing the Flame
Paul drops into an early Christian hymn. “If we have died together, we will also live together.”
The line echoes something Paul teaches elsewhere. Baptism joins us to Jesus’ death, and through his death, to his life. This is not a metaphor for trying harder. It is a description of how new life actually enters a person.
Under pressure, we often think life comes from holding on tighter. Paul says the opposite. Life comes from letting go, from dying with Christ so that the living can begin again from a different source.
If you are tired this week of being the one holding everything together, this verse is for you. Some things need to die so something truer can rise.
What do you need to stop keeping alive so something honest can begin?
God of the cross and the empty tomb, loosen our grip on what we’ve been propping up. Join us to Jesus’ dying, so his risen life can rise in us. Amen.