“What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin- because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.”
Romans 6:1-7

When we accept Christ, we are not supposed to live in sin or partake in our old ways. For example, when a man decides to marry a particular woman, he is no longer in a relationship with any previous women because of this commitment. Similarly, when we accept Christ as our Lord, we are no longer in a relationship with Adam, who represents the sinful man. Of course, practically all of us still sin after we accept Christ, but the difference is that we don’t live in sin as we did before. Like a man who may still have some feelings for an ex, he does not dwell in these feelings because he is committed with someone else. The old relationship is over even though some memories, some feelings linger momentarily.

During spring/summer in upstate New York, dandelions proliferate and cover much of the green grass. It is possible to remove the weeds temporarily by pulling them out one by one. However, that task is tedious, and to remove an invasive species, you must remove the weed without leaving any of its roots behind, or else it would regrow. The problem with dandelions is how quickly they spread their seeds. In the process of pulling these weeds off, you’re more likely to spread their seeds than to extinguish the specie. The trick to getting rid of dandelions is not to pull them out, but to grow good grass. By growing rich, healthy grass, dandelion roots do not flourish so well and die. Sin is very similar to invasive species. A single dandelion may seem harmless, even pretty when its petals are still yellow, but when it matures into a ball of fluffy seeds, which can spread fast, it can be dangerous. Left alone, it can turn a beautiful lawn ugly very quickly. The best way to address the ugliness of sin is to grow good grass, or bear good fruit in its place so weed does not have a chance to grow. You can’t take off our selves, without having our new selves ready.

-Chui Wong