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By Matthew Sorenson
Guest Columnist

Let’s be real for a moment. Resurrections are both scary and awesome! Awesome, because who doesn’t like to see death defeated? Scary, because the dead are now alive. What do we do with that? So is catching a tiger by the tail. It’s both scary and awesome. That phrase is a metaphor for a situation where trying to back out might be fatal and so you have no option but to hang on for dear life. We have one of those right now. We rescued a Belgian Malinois who lived outside for the last five years and has no manners whatsoever. He’s got energy and passion. He’s got athleticism and youth. But no manners. It’s a dangerous combination. There are days when we feel like we have a tiger by the tail.

Living in the light of Jesus’ resurrection is like catching a tiger by the tail – it is both scary and awesome. Awesome, because who doesn’t like to see death defeated? Scary, because Jesus is alive. What does that mean for me? Paul tells us in Romans 6:4. “We were buried therefore with (Jesus) 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.” In Holy Baptism we are united with Jesus through faith so that his death is our death and his resurrection is our resurrection. Since we died we have been set free from the sins of yesterday. Our resurrection means that we have an opportunity to start over – to walk in newness of life. That’s both awesome and a little scary!

Living in the light of Christ’s resurrection offers us the opportunity to experience a death and resurrection every day – to start over every day. Paul elaborates on what this looks like in Colossians 3. In verse 1 he writes, “If then you have been raised with Christ . . .” then life looks like this. In verse 5 he writes, “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you.” He goes on to explain in detail what it means to put to death the sinner in us. Then in verse 12 he writes, “Put on then . . .” and he goes on to describe what living in Christ looks like. Living in the light of Christ’s resurrection involves a daily death and resurrection. Daily confessing our sins and giving them to Jesus and daily rising to new life forgiven and set free! It is both scary and awesome. It can be a little scary to confess our sins but it is awesome to celebrate our forgiveness in Christ and bounce up in new life. In Christ we have caught the tiger by the tail and there is no letting go! What a joy it is to live in the light of Christ’s resurrection!

REV. MATTHEW SORENSON is the pastor at St. John’s Lutheran Church. He can be reached at pastor@stjohnsfarmville.org.