April 5th, 20

Today's reading is Ruth 1, 2, Psalm 53, 61 and II Corinthians 5.  We are reading from the New Living Translation.

New bodies.  New life. New ministry.  New person. Don’t let your old body fool you when  you look in the mirror this morning. God’s doing something new.  Don’t let your memory of your past self fool you, when you think about your past, this morning.  Both of those things are far too easy to do. But God is doing something new. Paul tells us that we have a new identity and a new future, in Christ.

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. (II Cor 5:17-18)

Ours is to believe God, when he tells us that anyone who belongs to Jesus has become a new person.  The old life is gone and a new life has begun. And this is all a gift from God. It’s not a result of our own virtue or piety, or anything good that we have done.  It’s a result of Christ. No longer counting our sins against us, we are made right with God. This gift is given to us because of Jesus, and through Jesus.

For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. (II Cor 5:19)

Unbelievable!  Did you hear that?!  Go back and read it! God has paid a price for you and me - so that we might be reconciled to God.  Because of this, we can begin this new life and experience a new future and destiny - because of what Christ has done for us! And that’s going to extend, not only to our ministry and our life here and now, but eventually it will extend all the way into eternity,  with new bodies - Resurrection bodies! This too, is a part of the gift God has given us, through Christ.

And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. (II Cor 5:18)

The word “through” here, is paramount for us to understand, in order to be free and fulfill the destiny of being those who reconcile others to God.  We must always be pointing people to the fact that it is all achieved through Jesus - the Anointed One - the Messiah. He did this by offering his life on the Cross.  We’re told at the end of this passage that He who knew no sin became sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God, in Christ.

For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. (II Cor 5:21)

Live in this newness, this new life, as a new person, with this new ministry of reconciliation.  Know the joy and strength that comes from this kind of life.

You are loved!