2 Corinthians 5: 17-20 -
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the
new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:
that God was reconciling the world to
himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of
reconciliation. 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.
Paul loved these people so much….I love the way he writes
from his heart…tries so hard to explain to them how God has transformed his
life. He knew well what he had done
before God knocked him off his ‘high horse’…blinded him to get his attention…and
then transformed him into a new creature…a great preacher…a writer…a great
model of prayer…able to praise God in any situation. He wanted the same for them…he wanted them to
reconcile themselves to God…so he could wash them clean of all their sins too!
I walked the beach for the first time in years last
night. I looked down at the smooth sand…freshly
washed perfect from the rush of water as the tide went out. Every night...the
water washes the sand clean of its imperfections…..every morning the sand is
smooth…shiny and new. It only took seconds….the imperfections faded instantly
as the water rushed back out to sea. The
imperfect sand blended back into the rest of the sea floor. The simplicity of God’s plan in nature…. is also
the key to how we should apply this great verse in our lives.
Oh how we need to let God wash us clean every morning…we
need to lift our heads off the pillows and pray that God allow us to rise in
our transformed bodies….and leave all that sin…those mistakes…that heavy
baggage in the bed. But most of us try
to hold on to that past…we get up with it…we carry it around…heavy as it is…it
is so easy for Satan to remind us of how bad we WERE. We have a hard time just
letting the past wash out of our lives…like the water cleans the beach. Satan
knows this weakness of ours…he reminds us of our mistakes as often as he gets a
chance….even tries to trick us into thinking they are still a part of who we
are.
I do believe my past is a part of me….it has shaped me into
what I am today. It is my message of hope to others…to share what God has done
for me…to see the wonder of what he has brought me through. Our human brains can never forget what we were…but
that should be the extent of its effect. Paul is telling us here…that we should
concentrate on the new us…the creature that God changed us into when we asked
him to be a part of our life. God is
using us to spread his gospel…we are to use the message of how he changed us to
be his ambassadors!
Father…thank you this morning for your blood that washes me
clean each day. Help me to stop picking
up those heavy suitcases of all my sins….show me how to let them go...to let
them wash back into the past as the sand washes back into the sea. Help me to concentrate on the new me you are
making….and how the story of my transformation can speak your love to others. Amen.
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