ROOTED - Monday, April 6, 2026

Romans 6:4

4  We
were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just
as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too
might walk in newness of life.

Reflection: Resurrection

Written By: Pastor Jesse
Caro

There
are many things ministers say when they baptize someone. I have done baptisms
by immersion for two decades and have witnessed many other countless baptisms.
I have heard all kinds of things said during this ordinance. But the thing I
say, most of the time is, “Upon your profession of faith, I baptize you my
brother/sister in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” Then I
say, “…buried in the likeness of his death, and raised to walk in newness of
life!” That is, sort of, a standard way of doing it (I think). It is a fastball
down the middle of Christian orthodoxy.

What
we celebrated on Easter is not merely the fact that Jesus is no longer in the
grave… though his resurrection is the guarantee that his death actually
accomplished something for us. Easter is, mostly, a celebration that we are
no longer dead in our sins. We have been raised to walk in newness of life
by the Spirit of God. When once we were dead, now we are alive… up and running
the life in Christ with energy and vigor. As Christ was raised from the dead,
we too are raised from death to vibrant life. In this way, the symbol for
Christianity in the early church was not the cross (as much as we like using
the cross as the central ornament in our churches). The cross did not become a
significant symbol of Christianity until after the first four centuries. It
was, in fact, the empty tomb that was the preferred symbol. And so it should be
that our death to sin is not the principal marker in the Christian life as much
as it is our aliveness to Christ.   

So,
as we continue in celebrating the resurrection, we rejoice not just in the fact
that “Jesus is risen” but also in the fact that we have been raised with him…
“raised to walk in newness of life.”

Prayer

Lord, we celebrate the fact that we serve a risen savior who has
made us new… for you make all things new. May we live as people made alive in
Christ.