2 Corinthians 5:17
“Wherefore if any man is in Christ, there is a new creation: the old things are passed away; behold, they are become new.”
What of Today’s Verse…
True Christianity is very different from much that we see around us, and which is known as such, and is summed up in orthodoxy of creed, in religious service, in gifts and deeds, which cost little or nothing. If Christianity is anything, it is self-giving, even to death. If Christianity means anything, we must renounce self as the centre of our life and be willing to sacrifice ourselves for others. Nothing will save the world, which is cursed with the spirit of selfishness, but the repetition and filling-up as far as possible of Christ’s sacrifice by those who profess to be His servants and followers. Selfishness is destructive, but the love that gives itself even to blood and tears is constructive.
But we must be sure that the supreme thought of every word and act must be Christ who died and rose again (2Co_5:14-15). Let us not live only for humanity, but for the Son of Man, and as we live for Him the bitter will be sweet and the rough smooth, and we shall find ourselves living for the whole race of men for whom He died.
When this becomes the law of life, we are necessarily a new creation; we live under a new heaven, and walk over a new earth. There is a new aspect upon the most familiar objects of our environment. It is not that they have altered, but that we are changed from self to the spiritual; from the old life of sin to the new life of which the centre is the glorified Saviour. In his book “Grace Abounding,” Bunyan gives expression to this thought of the wonderful change that passes over the face of creation, and the aspect of human life, so soon as the heart is full of the love of God.
Let us notice the emphasis of 2Co_5:18. God was in Christ when He bore the burden of the world’s sin upon the Cross and that we have been brought to know and love Him as of His grace. It is God also who has given us the right to carry the message of mercy and forgiveness to all within our reach. “He hath given to us,” that is, to you and me, “the ministry of reconciliation.” It is for us to go forth into the world, our hearts filled with Christ’s love, telling men and women that this is a redeemed world, and that God is waiting for them to accept His love and mercy. This is the message of Christianity.
Let us Pray:
O Lord, forgive what I have been; sanctify what I am; and order what I shall be. Amen.
Words of Wisdom
Abundance
I am blessed beyond measure.
I am grateful for the simple things in life–streets decorated with coloured lights, the night sky ablaze with a thousand tiny stars. I am struck by the beauty that is mine to enjoy.
During a meal with friends, I notice the many ways I am nourished, body, and soul. When the sun warms my face or I pull a coat around me against the cold wind, I feel enfolded in the love of God. Lending a helping hand to a stranger or sharing a word of encouragement with a child, I am reminded of all that I have to give.
I count my blessings for the small things, and I am grateful for the abundant good in my life. In large and small ways, I am blessed.
Joseph stored up grain in such abundance–like the sand of the sea–that he stopped measuring it; it was beyond measure.–Genesis 41:49
