Casandra Martin

We tend to think of time in very physical terms. This is natural because our physical lives are measured and move within time. We count days and weeks, years and decades, watching our children grow, our bodies change, and the people around us move through the seasons of life. It is with no great surprise, then, that we read a passage like Ecclesiastes 3 in the light of birthdays and funerals and the very physical ramifications of time.

“…a time to be born, and a time to die:” – Ecclesiastes 3:2a

If you are like me, my mind goes to the days that mark the beginning and end of life. We celebrate. We grieve. We come to understand the truth of these words of wisdom. Interestingly, however, the Bible spends more time talking about being born and dying in spiritual terms than it does in physical terms. Perhaps the physical realities of birth and death are meant to introduce us to a spiritual truth we desperately need to understand.

Our physical lives begin with birth and end with death. Spiritual transformation begins with death which then gives way to life. In order to be conformed into the image of Jesus, we have to die to self and be born of water and the Spirit into a new life. And that is just the beginning. Every day I am called to put to death those things that do not look like Jesus, and open my heart to the wonderful, sometimes challenging, things that God wants to bring to life in me.

My Jesus Resolution today is to surrender to the dying and birthing my heart needs to grow. Dying to self is hard work. Being open to Christ being formed in me isn’t always easy. But within the precious time God has given me today I have the opportunity to bury the old and embrace the new. Today there will be a time to be born and a time to die. In order to look more like Jesus, I will need to recognize the opportunity and seize the moment.