So we have stopped evaluating others by what the world thinks about them. Once I mistakenly thought of Christ that way, as if he were merely a human being. How different I think about him now! What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun!
All this newness of life is from God, who brought us back to himself through what Christ did. And God has given use the task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sin against them. This is the wonderful message he has given us to tell others. We are Christ’s ambassadors, and God is using us to speak to you. We urge you, as though Christ himself were here pleading with you. “Be reconciled to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
2 Corinthians 5:16-212 Corinthians 5:16-21
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
16 We are careful not to judge people by what they seem to be, though we once judged Christ in that way. 17 Anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The past is forgotten, and everything is new. 18 God has done it all! He sent Christ to make peace between himself and us, and he has given us the work of making peace between himself and others. 19 What we mean is that God was in Christ, offering peace and forgiveness to the people of this world. And he has given us the work of sharing his message about peace. 20 We were sent to speak for Christ, and God is begging you to listen to our message. We speak for Christ and sincerely ask you to make peace with God. 21 Christ never sinned! But God treated him as a sinner, so that Christ could make us acceptable to God.
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One of the most clear ways we are dependent on God is for our standing before him. God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. As followers of Jesus, we are aware of our own inability to measure up. We fail to love God, and we fail to love people. There is nothing we can boast in when it comes to our ability to come to God’s throne asking for his help. God sent Jesus. It was he, not us, who bridged the gap between us.
As far as “receiving” goes, this should be a no-brainer. We must either receive God’s act of reconciliation, or we won’t have it. There is no way we can get reconciliation with God on our own. This new life that God gives is not something that we produce on our own. It isn’t based on special knowledge or the right friends or upbringing. It is based on God’s compassion.
Two responses seem to come to mind: thanks and obedience. When we receive with the right spirit, these responses (we might use slightly different wording) are natural consequences. First, we give thanks. We tell God that we recognize what he has done, the value of the gift. We tell him that we grasp what it cost – though we may not fully understand it. Second, we obey.
When we receive a gift, “obey” may not be the word that comes to mind. But if we receive a gift, don’t we usually show the gift some level of care and concern? We show by our treatment that the gift is valuable to us. In relation to God’s gift, the result is that we obey him. And what would it mean to obey? We love him, in a way that continually deepens over time. We love others, learning how to forgive and how to show compassion and mercy. We follow his lead, growing more like Him in every way.
If you have been reconciled with God, thank him today. And then obey him, looking for every opportunity to demonstrate the change he has made in you. If that is not a reality in your life yet, then we offer the same plea as Paul, “Be reconciled to God!” Let him show you how life was intended to be! Let him create new life. You will never be the same.
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