Think, Act, Be, Day 5-2 Corinthians 5:11-21
“My, my, look how much you’ve grown! I can hardly recognize you.”
No child likes to hear those words at a family reunion. But tell those words to a growing believer in Jesus—especially one that you knew before she came to know the Lord. Suddenly, you’re encouraging them with grace. It’s one of the marks of a believer. Her life has completely changed. Yes, she has the same body she always had, but now she’s a new person. Paul says our status is now, “In Christ.” We are now new creations. The old ways have passed; a new chapter is being written.
Do we like to go back to the old ways of living? Of course we do; it happens all the time. But God’s grace calls us to continue the journey of Jesus. We live a new way because he has already inaugurated his reign in our world. Give thanks. A new day has dawned. And you’ll never be the same.
2 Corinthians 5:11-21
Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade others; but we ourselves are well known to God, and I hope that we are also well known to your consciences. 12 We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you an opportunity to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast in outward appearance and not in the heart. 13 For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 14 For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. 15 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.
16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view;[a] even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view,[b] 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,[c] 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.