New Creation

This week I've been seriously working on the message for Easter morning.  I'm using a passage out of 2 Corinthians and reading it over and over to let it sink into my bones has been part of my preparation.  I thought I'd post it as well so that it might be a blessing to someone else.

This is The Message version of 2 Corinthians 5: 14 - 21:

Christ's love has moved me to such extremes.  His love has the first and last word in everything we do.

Our firm decision is to work from this focused center.  One man died for everyone.  That puts everyone in the same boat.  He included everyone in his death so that everyone could also be included in his life, a resurrection life, a far better life than people ever lived on their own.

Because of this decision we don't evaluate people by what they have or how they look.  We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know.  We certainly don't look at him that way anymore.  Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new.  The old life is gone; a new life burgeons!  Look at it!  

All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other.  God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins.  God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing.  We're Christ's representatives.  God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God's work of making things right between them.  We're speaking for Christ himself now.  Become friends with God, he's already a friend with you.

How? you ask.  In Christ.  God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God.