Made alive to live for Him - Hebrews 8-10

9:14 - ... how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead or works to serve the living God?  In this one verse in Hebrews we have both the theme to the book and the foundation to Christian living.    Christ, as the ultimate sacrifice, offered Himself up for us; which in turn cleansed us from deadness and created us now alive - to serve God (who we were at one time alienated).   Christ, through love for us, was willing to pay the price for us and thereby giving us the life we need to "serve" God.   We have not be saved to "retire" into God's heaven.  We have not be saved by the blood of Christ to live a life of "ease" on this earth.  We have not be saved to practice sin - forgiven of his penalty.   No, we have been saved to serve!   Maybe out of obligation; maybe out of thanksgiving; maybe out of love; maybe out of fear; maybe out of guilt - but always out of LIFE!   We couldn't serve Him before.  We were DEAD.   Now we have been made alive to serve Him.   That is the reason for the new life in Christ and the purpose of the new life in Christ.  We serve Him because we now CAN serve Him.  Whereas we were dead, now we are alive and any act of goodness we do will allow us to serve Him (Romans 6:14).   Go, alive and serve.