On a New Team

The 6/4 verse today is Romans 6:4, "For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.". (NLT)

Bill recently used an analogy in a sermon, which I love. I'm going to borrow it today to help me illustrate this verse in a practical way. You don't have to be a former basketball player to appreciate the game and it's talented players. One such player is Lebron James, a phenom to say the least. Last summer, Lebron announced that, after playing with one team for several years, he had decided to leave that team to play for another team. His contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers had expired and he was considered a free agent. He chose to play for the Miami Heat instead, and signed a contract to seal the deal. He would give himself and his talents to his new team and they would pay a high price in that transaction. What a deal, right? It was high profile and it was the talk of the town. Everyone was abuzz about the change.

Bill's analogy follows. What if Lebron and the Heat came to Cleveland and the familiarity of the surroundings he had played in for so long was so overwhelming that it caused Lebron to go sit on the Cavaliers' bench. That wouldn't fly, because he's not on that team anymore. But what if he still was influenced by his familiar surroundings and went into the Cavaliers' locker room at half-time, instead of the Heat's locker room? That would be sort of dumb, now wouldn't it? I mean, who goes into enemy territory like that? after all, he's not on that team anymore. Subsequently, what if he was so influenced by his old environment, that he pulled off his Heat jersey in the middle of the game and asked for his old Cavaliers' jersey? He couldn't do that...because he's not on that team anymore!

You see, Lebron signed a new contract because he was free to do so. He is accountable to keep the terms of that contract now and abide by it's guidelines. To do otherwise would be a little wacky. There's too much at stake. Can you see a correlation between this analogy and our team status? What team are you on? If you've utilized your free will to be on God's team, you can't play on both teams. It won't work to go back to familiar sins and tempting environments...you're not on that team anymore! When you become a Christian, your new contract is such that you are leaving your old life and team behind to give yourself and your talents to God. God has already paid for your new contract with the blood of His son, Jesus.
I think that's a pretty sweet deal and we'd be crazy to want to go back to the old team, and our old way of life. We may not know all the plays of our new team right away, but our new coach is pretty awesome. He's Awesome God, full of love, patience, and long-suffering for our learning curve. Yet, He deserves our best and we should always give it to Him.

When we are baptized, we are leaving our old team and our old life. We are dead to those old ways. Just as Christ was raised from the dead, we are raised into a new life. We are on a new team. We were once considered free agents, but our new team makes us true free agents. We are free to live a new life as MVP's on a winning team. Put me in, Coach!