Romans Part 3 - LIFEಮಾದರಿ

When Widowhood is a Divine Gift

Previously, Paul used marriage as an illustration of Christ and the church. Here, he uses the dissolution of marriage as a metaphor for the church and its relationship to the law. He is not suggesting that the marriage of the church to Christ has died; the church is referred to as the “bride of Christ.” (Ephesians 5:22). Neither is he suggesting that the Law is now abolished. (Matt 5:17). So, what does he mean? When an earthly spouse dies, the legal bond of marriage is dissolved. The wife is released from the law of marriage and is free to marry another without being, legally, a bigamist. Similarly, we have been released from the legal bond of the law. We have, essentially, died to sin; we are released from its bondage, free to be bound, instead, to Christ, to serve, not by bearing fruit for death, but by serving in the new way of the Spirit. We are to follow a code, written not on tablets of stone, but on our hearts.

“ I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh, And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” Ezekiel 36:26-27.

Our bond to Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit, should cause us to desire to follow the decrees of the law. We should find ourselves willingly submitting to the law of God written on our hearts, out of a growing love for Him, much as a spouse would do, when experiencing marriage a second time, this time to a perfect spouse!

Rejoice that you are not in bondage to the law, but have the power of the Holy Spirit to pursue holiness.

Are you finding obeying God more of a joyous impulsion than a forced compulsion?

-Donna Beardsley