Romans 6:1-4

Romans 6:1-4
English Standard Version (ESV)

  Few more beautiful words have ever been printed.  In this section, Paul tells us how baptism works.  In it, we are joined with Christ in his death, and then we are raised from the dead by the glory of God.  We, too, walk in new life.
  Now, this doesn't say that we get to skip death.  It doesn't tell us that everything is going to be easy, that all the hard parts are wiped away.  What Paul tells us is that the hard parts have been overcome, and that our baptism assures us that death will not swallow us whole.  We still can have hope in the face of despair, but we will still have despair.  Being a Christian doesn't mean that life suddenly becomes easy -- being a Christian allows us to have a different attitude in the face of life's difficulties.
  Paul tells us in the beginning that our freedom should affect us -- we who have died to sin no longer need to live in fear of it.  Rejoice, Christian!  Life surrounds you, coursing through your veins.  You have been raised, and you shall live forever!