A Family Reunion
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2 Corinthians 5:16-21
16. From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once regarded Christ from a human point of view, we regard him thus no longer. 17. Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come. 18. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave 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 to us the message of reconciliation. 20. So we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We beseech 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.
From now on? A new creation? These are two phrases that stand out for me since my Emmaus Walk. Also, what do I do with all this new information, this new level of self-awareness and self-discovery? Am I not from now on even more frustrated and disappointed by and at living “in the world?” Paul tells the Corinthians--and us--that the answer to that is a resounding “NO!” Once we know Christ--really know him--we are truly jubilant to be used as one of his ambassadors! The world is waiting for us to tell them the real news of the day! Christ died on the cross--for me, for you, for each of us--individually, and for all of mankind.
That death, that sacrifice, makes us all members of the same family. And now every day is to be like a family reunion! Oh, there is still the wayward uncle, and the rebellious niece, the eccentric brother-in-law and the neurotic sister. But all of them are in our family. And God sent his son for them. So now that we have this big, crazy, wonderful, diverse and interesting extended family, we get to work--and minister to them, and love them, teach them and comfort them, rejoice with them and never stop telling them how much God loves them and wants them to come into his fold. My “earthly” family all live far away--I hardly ever get to see them in person. There are times when I miss them terribly. And that’s how it is when we are apart from our “heavenly” family too!
When we don’t go to church, we don’t have the opportunity to worship with our family. When we go to work and don’t minister to our co-workers, we’ve passed up a chance to change a life. When we are a part of God’s family through Christ, we view all the other human beings God has placed in our lives with the same love we have for those quirky, eccentric, wayward aunts and uncles and cousins! We may not like what they do or how the act, or even how they live--but we love them anyway. That’s what “From now on” means to me. Now that I have experienced the saving grace of Jesus Christ up close and personal, I am compelled to no longer regard others from a human point of view--but from the point of view of Jesus.
So now my challenge is how do I become more like Christ? That’s probably a discussion for another day! Today I’m going to focus on this great big heavenly family God has given me and figure out my place in that family.
I hope today you throw a great big family reunion! And that you extend the love of Christ to every single “relative” you meet!
Mary
