Daily Bread

For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them.

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. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; 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. 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. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Wow! This passage kinda sums up the gospel doesn't it?

We are in Christ and called to be ambassadors for Christ with a ministry of reconciliation to the world. Remember how I like to talk about how one day heaven and earth will fully overlap? Well, the use of the word reconciliation is another way of talking about this very same thing. God and Creation are in the process of being reconciled, and we are God's agents to help bring this reconciliation about. We are first reconciled to God, and then we both share and live out this reconciliation in the world as God works in and through us.

Our message is simple — "God loves you! And God has demonstrated this love for you — making you clean and holy — through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus!"

I wonder what word or phrase jumped out at you as you read the passage? The phrase that jumped out to me was, "From now on... we regard no one from a human point of view," and to me this means two things.

Firstly, because we are filled with God's Spirit, we have God's eyes, and secondly, it means we see others as God sees them. To regard someone as God regards them — as holy and beloved — shapes how we think about them, how we talk to them, how we talk about them, and how we behave towards them. It means everyone has the potential to be reconciled with God and transformed by God's love and forgiveness (even the sticky, prickly, spiky ones!)

There is no-one that cannot be redeemed, no-one that cannot be renewed, and no-one that cannot be restored, but they will never know God's love unless we share it both in word and deed; through proclamation and presence.

Who do you long to be filled with God's love? Who do you long to see transformed by the saving power of Jesus? As we pray today, perhaps visualise them smiling and receiving God's redemption and them being reconciled to God.

Holy God
I long to see people
reconciled to you,
May those for whom I pray
come to know the love, grace,
mercy, joy, and peace
of our Saviour Jesus Christ.
I ask this in your name
as one who has
been reconciled by your love.