In communion (the Lord's Supper) Jesus gives Himself to us: "This is My blood shed for you," and each time we partake we receive those precious gifts afresh by faith. But in water baptism we give ourselves to Him; we offer Him our old sinful self so it can die with Him on the cross and be buried with Him in the grave. And this is where Paul says our new life begins: with our "death." It sounds morbid when you hear that word and don't understand what it means, but in the spiritual world there is no getting away from the fact that death precedes life. Something must die before new life can be born. So we shouldn't be surprised that when Paul starts talking about how believers can live beautiful, new lives free from the power of sin that he starts with the subject of death... our death. Jesus teaches this so clearly when He says, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies, it bears much fruit (Jn 12:24). First and foremost, He was talking about Himself. He was telling us He had to die on the cross so He could bear much fruit... us. But He went on to say that this principle of dying is true for us as well. We must die to this world like He did if we are to become His followers (Jn 12:25, 26). But what does that mean? Does it mean I become grumpy and stop enjoying people and the beauty around me? No, it doesn't. In fact the more I die to 'this world," the more I enjoy people and the beauty around me. That's when new life really begins.

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