4/12/10 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 A New Creation

16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 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. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

(Butterly- a Christian symbol of someone transformed; worm to cryssalis, to butterfly)

To be a Christian is to be a new creature.  We don't regard people according to what they have or don't have.  In the early church, there were people who hadn't been together- slaves and the rulling class.  Jews, Greeks, Romans, and "barbarians" all met in the same place to worship- whereas before they met separately.  God was able to bring people together- reconciling them to God and to each other.  We have been given the task to bring people together. Perry Tuttle in his book quoted Maya Angelou who said, "We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color.” 



Prayer; Thank you Lord, that you make me a new creature.  Make me new today, and put a new song in my mouth- a song of reconciliation to others.