New Creations for Reconciliation & Generosity

Week Six - Day 2

Today's Reading

Acts 19:23--2 Corinthians 4:16 to 9:15

This section of Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians contains some real scriptural gems:

• “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; everything old has passed away, see, everything has become new” (5:17).
• “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation” (5:18).
•  “So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (5:20).
• “The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows abundantly will also reap abundantly” (9:6).
• “Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (9:7).

The act of creation is a powerful event filled with all the energy and impulses of God.  It is not something that happens haphazardly; there is intention, wonderment and joy not only in the process but also in the completed work.  Such is the nature of our being when we are “in Christ,” and who could speak better of this than Paul whose own conversion experience on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-31) re-created him from a persecutor of the church to an apostle proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah.  Paul, who once hunted down Christians breaking up families and communities, now sees reconciliation as a primary responsibility of all believers.  Unity of relationship then draws us to mutual caring for one another, with generosity as an outward sign of the spirit that binds us together.