“For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.” Commentary: Through the incarnation Jesus identified with our birth and our death! Planted together! You have to plant a seed before you get a harvest! The Greek word (Strong’s#4854), for planted together means to be combined and united together to grow! In the likeness or resemblance of his death! We must die to self before the new birth can come! A seed must die before it produces fruit! Jesus said we must be born again! God uses his power and authority to save us at a great cost! A sacrificial lamb for our redemption! Most humans use their political power to rule over us manipulating us with lies for their benefit! It seems at times Democracy at it’s best is like electing your own slave owners! God sacrificed for us as we are to do for others! The love of God is sacrificing for others! Until you have done this you have never lived with purpose! The Kingdom of God is a sacrificial system! Not sacrificing us for his benefit but sacrificing himself for our benefit! It is hard for me to see political Americans sacrificing us for their benefit! For their own gain! Our greatest leaders here in America like Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr. sacrificed themselves for our benefit! The list goes on by the millions of military members over our history! What is sin? Sin is sacrificing others for your benefit! That is what Satan does! How? Through rape, murder, robbery, identity fraud, abortion, open borders, drugs, extortion, lying, false witnesses, tax cheats, ransom, kidnapping, divorce, arson and the list goes on! How about war itself? Putin wants donations to help bury thousands of their war dead! He needs to pay for all the violence done against Ukraine and his own people! What about sin in the church? Stealing money! How about the 501c tax exempt status trading free speech for money? The church was silent on Trump during the 2020 elections and Biden got in and now we pay the price for silence! If Trump were in there would be no war in the Ukraine! So we just collect money for Ukraine by the non-profits and they continue being muted to speak out exercising our 1st Amendment! Jesus came to enable us to repent of our sin however it cost him his life! Who are you living for? Sin? The battle between good and evil will continue but whose side are we on? We are to forgive our enemies but if you cannot you are on the wrong side! God’s love identifies with the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ Can we identify with Christ? Only because he first identified with us innocent yet took upon himself our sin to set us free from the guilt and bondage of Satan our accuser! Happy Easter! James & Hamsa Sasse. IndiaJesusLovesYou.com