Putting Ourselves at the Disposal of God

Readings:
Ezra 7
Romans 6:12-14

Focus:
Romans 6:13b: "Put yourselves instead at the disposal of God; think of yourselves as raised from death to life, and yield your bodies to God as implements for doing right."

Once we have given our lives to Christ, we have become identified with him. We have died to sin and entered upon a new life. Because of this, we no longer want to be slaves to sin.

And not only this: we must not sin any more. We must do everything we can to avoid sinning. This includes all kinds of sin, the obvious kinds, such as murder and theft and sexual sin, but also the little kinds, such as irritability and unkindness and putting ourselves first. As it says in verse 12, "sin must no longer reign" in us. We belong to God. We must not act in a way to betray this relationship.

I sometimes think of it this way. I can either help the world be better, or more evil. When I do wrong things, even little wrong things such as saying something selfish, I have just contributed to making the world more evil. I must not do this! I must put myself instead at the disposal of God and do right.