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16 From 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. 17 So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. 20 So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:16-21)
Happy and blessed Tuesday, ConCafe Family! May God's blessings bring peace and hope to your world, dear Reader! May we continue to pray for one another, for those areas affected last night in the change in weather some areas received. There were some tornados in our area, but all seems safe and secure at this writing. Pray for peace. Pray for those things you lug around needlessly and turn them over to the Lord!
Be honest. Do you ever take the first or top item in a rack or stack of items in the store? If you're buying something that comes in a package and the package is damaged or a bit wrinkled, do you still take it? Put your hands down! I'm the same way. There's just something about spending money on items that are supposed to be brand new and so we expect (some demand) that they be as perfect as they can be. And yet, when it comes to us, have we ever been made brand new? Here's what Paul is saying about what Jesus can and does do, for those who give their lives to Him.
Paul is addressing the believers in Corinth as being made new in Christ. And the first place that change should take place is in our minds. Our point of view has changed from a human point of view to a spiritual one. In other words, Paul says, we have been made brand new in and through Him. Everything old about us has died, and in its place something brand new has come to replace it. This is saying a lot! Is it making a difference in you? Have you taken advantage of this for yourself? For Paul, the realm in which we live before we met Christ is replaced by the divine realm of God, where we have been reconciled to God through Jesus. And this has become our new occupation of being ministers of reconciliation, which is God's ongoing and neverending ministry of reaching the whole world through Jesus for Himself. Our tresspasses no longer count against us; meaning our every sin has been removed from us, and we are now ambassadors for Christ Jesus, since God is making His appeal through us. That's heavy stuff in and of itself. We become living examples of the change that can and does come to those who give their whole being to God in Jesus. It's our way of showing what true reconcilation should look like. And Paul further reveals a mystery of what can and has happened, in Jesus; that He, Jesus, who had no sin, became sin, that is, He took our sins off of us and onto Himself, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
It never ceases to amaze me all that Paul learned at Jesus Seminary, the three day doctoral level study Paul had in the presence of the Risen Christ. To be fair, Saul of Tarsus was a very educated man, having studied at the feet of Gamaliel, one of the leading rabbinical scholars of his day. It was through Gamaliel that Saul became a Pharisee. Yes, he was one of those people! Yet, on the road to Damascus, Saul got knocked off his high horse, he fell flat on his face and was asked by name why he was carrying on the way he was. When Saul asked who was asking, Jesus said it was Him. Blinded by the brightness of Christ's glory during this three days of blindness, Jesus revealed to him many things about Himself, God, and the mission of God on the earth. And this part of the passage we just studied above is doctoral level material. It is theological and philosophical, and it boggles the mind of many who attempt to understand it without praying and asking for a tutor, like the Holy Spirit, to help us understand it. In other words, if we are truly in Christ, everything about us should have changed from the old nature, to a brand new nature. What we once were ashamed of, has been made brand new and we have become, to quote Paul, "The righteousness of God." Whoa. That means everything about us is new, and we should have that new smell of a new life that attracts and does not repel, others to come to ask about what has come over us. We then take that advantage to share Jesus in a way that will bring others to a new life, a brand new life for themselves. The work is not easy, and we may not have success after success, but we should be encouraged that we travel not alone, but with the help and power of the Risen Christ with us.
PRAYER: Awesome Lord, we are humbled to even be considered Your righteousness here on the world. So much of what we used to be, and what we used to do, has stayed in our memory and the burden of guilt still calls to us to quit, but help us hear only You speaking loudly and clearly that we are on the right path, doing the right thing, headed where we should be going. And we pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord. Show off your brand new smell of righteousness to others today!
Receive my blessings of joy and peace,
Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.
