Renewing Your Vows

Out of that terrible travail of soul, he'll see that it's worth it and be glad he did it. Through what he experienced, my righteous one, my servant, will make many "righteous ones," as he himself carries the burden of their sins. Isaiah 53:11 (MSG)

Ruts are coffins with their sides busted out. Routines and superficial rituals can suck the life from you. Take marriage, for example. It can quickly become monotonous, stealing one’s gratitude and joy. When partners renew their vows to each other, they remember the love and excitement of their wedding day.

Like marriage, our commitment to Christ is a covenant relationship. The difference is that Christ sealed His covenant with us not with a ring but with His sacred blood. The cross is the altar where we make our vows to our bridegroom Jesus. We celebrate Passover this month when Easter rolls around. Is it time to renew your vows to Jesus by taking a thoughtful look at the cross?

Our slain prince endured a violent death of physical and emotional pain. Stripped of his dignity and forced to carry His instrument of execution, His suffering left Him with a face and body hardly recognizable as human. He poured out His soul to make us righteous ones in Him. To rise out of religious mediocrity is to experience His resurrection which transforms even the most grotesque life into one of beauty and expectation.