Our perspective on life changes because of Jesus’ resurrection.

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“For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” 
Romans 6:5 English Standard Version

This might be a free range parrot, but it belongs to a family in Honduras.

This parrot’s owner placed it in this tree while we visited on her front porch. Lepaterique, Honduras

A group of us were making home visits in Lepaterique, calling on children who are sponsored by Compassion International. This is one of my favorite days in Lepaterique. You never know what you’ll see. The mother of a child we visited greeted us by placing this parrot in the tree next to her home. It stayed in that tree as we gathered on her front porch.

It appears that this parrot is contemplating its future. Should it fly off into the ill-defined skies or stay where things are comfortable, where there is a meal every day and protection from predators? (Okay, so it can’t fly, but a bird can dream, can’t it?)

In Romans 6, Paul writes about what it means to be connected to Jesus’ death and resurrection through baptism.

We die in the water.
We live in the water.
Life changes in the water.

It’s as if God places us on a branch and encourages us to fly into the unknown of what it means to live in him. We are no longer shackled to the branches of sin. We have been placed on the branch of grace, and we are free to fly like we’ve never flown. Sin no longer has dominion. Christ does.

We are free range people who belong to Christ. In our flight, we trust the promise of his abiding presence to lead and guide us. Do we know where God will lead? Probably not, but we know that it’s better to fly into his future than to stay stuck and only dream about that life.

We’re not like this parrot. We can fly because we are connected to Jesus’ resurrection.

Picture and Text Copyright Douglas P Brauner