The Shawshank Redemption: Crawling Through Filth to Freedom (Romans 6:4)

Andy Dufresne escaped through five hundred yards of sewage pipe—"the length of five football fields." He crawled through filth to reach freedom. When he emerged on the other side, rain washed him clean as he lifted his arms to the sky. Paul describes baptism similarly: "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." The passage to new life isn't clean or dignified. It requires going through the muck of our old selves—confession, repentance, dying to what we were. But on the other side is freedom, and the rain of grace washes us clean. Andy planned his escape for nineteen years. Transformation is rarely instant. It's tunneling through rock with a tiny hammer, one night at a time.