Lenten Refrections - April 1st

Written by: Susan Wollner

Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin[b] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Everyone likes something new. You can see the smile on a child's face when he received a new toy. I remember the joy of finding the dress I wanted for prom in my closet when I was told we could not afford it. My parents sacrificed, that I might have something new. When a couple is married and a new family is forned there is joy. When a baby is born, all celebrate a new life. Paul tells us in this letter to Corinth that our life is made new through Christ. We are not reformed, rehabilitated or reeducated through Christ-we are recreated. We have new life when we reconcile with Christ who had not sin, but dies for our sin. We are therefore to be ambassadors for Christ, to reconcile to Him and to make His appeal of reconciliation to others. We are to be ministers of reconciliation to Christ. What an awesome responsibility!

Dear Lord, thank you for sending your son Jesus Christ to reconcile my sins. Please help me to be a minister of reconciliation to others. Help me to share the live of Christ with others and to live a new life each day in Christ. Amen.