2 Corinthians 5:16-21 (NRSV)
16From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. 17So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; 19that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. 20So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
THOUGHTS:
THOUGHTS:
Passages like this give me immense hope:
*Everything* has become new! (verse 17)
In Christ God was reconciling the *world* to himself (verse 19).
In Christ there is a new creation. The whole world has been reconciled to God. God's action is the focus of the story. This is exciting news. This is the Good News, and it is spectacular!
It isn't up to us to achieve reconciliation -- but to share with everyone this news about God being at work healing the world, and pulling us close to God. All the real work is done by God, leaving us the exhilarating opportunity to spread the news that God does not hold our sins against us.
I recently heard that blogger Andrew Sullivan of "The Daily Dish" once wrote:
"I call myself a Christian because I believe that, in a way I cannot fully understand, the force behind everything decided to prove itself benign by becoming us, and being with us. And as soon as people grasped what had happened, what was happening, the world changed for ever..."
Isn't that a beautiful image. God, the creator of everything, proved that God poses no threat or danger to us by putting on skin and moving into our neighborhood as one of us. Our sins died with Jesus, and God remembers them no more.
How can we be silent in the face of this awesomeness?
We are called to be *ambassadors* for Christ (verse 20), meaning is is our task to spread the word. How do you live out this calling with your life?
PRAYER:
God Almighty, give us the courage to share YOUR love, awesomeness, compassion, hope, joy, grace, mercy, peace, and healing with the hurting world all around us. We pray this in the name of Jesus, the Christ. AMEN.
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Thoughts by Ben Buss, Lutheran Campus Minister at George Mason University
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