How???

 

How?

2 Corinthians 5:16-21

¹⁶ From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. ¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone 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 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore 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.

 How did we use to look at people?  How does God want us, who are Christ Followers to look at people? How does God look at us? How does God make all this good stuff happen? How does God want us to be?  How do we get the stuff to be enough?  I am thinking these are some VERY good questions.

How Did We Use To Look At People?  BC or before Christ, it is my hunch that we did indeed look at people according to “the flesh.”  Females were measured by their height, weight, “measurements” beauty, hair color, sensuality or “hotness.”  Males also were viewed with similar “fleshly” overtones using a different kind of scale, but similar.  Outward look was the name of the game.  Muscle mass and build would bring great gain.  For both male and female athletic prowess was important.  Add to that how much money did they make?  What kind of car did they own?  What kind of home did they own?  Kind of like when the folks were seeking a King of Israel.  David was NOT in the running.

How Does God Want Us To View People?  Now the Creator moves us to a different view. We are now of the view that comes from the “For God so loved the world crowd.”  Each person is valuable to God.  The innards -not the outwards- are of most importance to God and those who are His.  We are challenged to realize that everyone has great worth, apart from their performance, because Christ gave His life for them, and He, therefore, imparts great value to them.  Each is deeply loved by the Lord.  When they come to Him, they are totally accepted by the Lord.  When they give their lives to Him, they are completely forgiven and fully pleasing to the Lord.  AND they have potential to overcome, by the Lord, when they face daily challenges. He views them as complete "in Christ Jesus." In a nutshell, others are viewed not so much by what they have/don't have or what they were/were not, but they are to be viewed by what God can make them to be. He does not view us as “low down sinners,” but God views us as potential saints.

How Does God Look At We Who Are His Children? He looks at us as entirely new creations.  All of the old stuff from the past can truly be put behind us.  Wounds and sins that traumatized us, by God’s grace, are  healed and we become entirely new.  We are NOT victims of the past.  We are victors with a future and a purpose.

How Does God Make All This Good Stuff Happen? It all comes from God:  Once we turn from our sins and traumatization toward Him -- through Jesus who is Christ-- this new creation miracle begins occurring: His New Covenant “kicks in”  through which God forgives all sin, makes us holy and or perfect in His sight, transforms us and gives us daily access to the Wonderful Counselor/High Priest Jesus (Hebrews 9:12;10:10;10:14;10-15-24.) The Holy Spirit permeates our being –as we daily surrender- because of the Cross of Christ. Now that’s a mouth full :+() In other words, God reconciles us to Him.  We now have far more than a religious experience.  We now have a daily relationship with the Almighty God!  “It’s a God Thang Honey?” (Della Reese.)

How Does God Want Us To BE? He wants us to BE what He makes us to BE:  He wants us to BE new creations. He wants us to BE reconciled to Him.  He wants us to BE ministers of reconciliation.  (This is NOT ONLY for the Clergy.)  He wants us to BE Ambassadors of The Kingdom of God in this darkened world that is in bondage to sin and death. Not only does HE want us to BE reconciled to Him, as Ambassadors, He wants us to make His appeal to those in the world at whom we are now looking differently. As branches on “the vine” (See John 15), He wants us BE people who bear the fruit and gifts of His Holy Spirit, (See Galatians 5:22-23) and He wants us to BE people who bear the fruit of others being grafted into the eternal vine of Christ Jesus. (See Matthew 18:18-20.) He wants us to help impart to others the "new creation" status we now enjoy.

How Do We Get The Stuff To "Be" Enough? We get the ability to become all that Christ would have us become because of the Cross of Jesus Christ. God made Him, Jesus-- who knew NO sin-- to become sin for us that we might “become.” Check out the last verse of our scripture above.  Actually more is said … “that we might become the righteousness of Christ.”  We have the power because of the Cross.  Jesus lived, He was crucified, dead and buried.  On the 3^rd day He conquered Hell, Death and The Grave.  Now, because HE lives, we have the power to live or become Christ to the World.  We have the power to, not only be reconciled to Christ, but to reconcile others. We have the power to be Ambassadors that represent The Almighty God, through God’s Messiah…even Jesus.  We do indeed have Divine power for the tearing down of strongholds and bringing into captivity anything that raises itself up against the knowledge of God. (2 Corinthians 10:2-4)  We are NOT spiritually challenged wimps. We have the power of the Holy Spirit.

Blessings on You Today

Especially 2day

SoJourner