Tending the New Creation

God is a God of “newness”.  God is a God of forward movement (which is why “progressive” Christianity always seems like an oxymoron. What other kind of Christianity can there be?). Like every other living thing, we have an inward impulse to grow! There are only two kinds of churches. Those that are growing and those that are in decline (if one is simply maintaining, they are actually dying). Therefore, when scriptures teach that we are new creations in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), it is only an extension of the renewing, life-giving, creative power of God.

However, I do believe God requires our participation. Scriptures teach that God makes all things new (rather than God making new things). Meaning, God has the ability to take our inadequate ability and insufficient resources and breathe new life into them…but only with our faith and faithful participation. We are co-creators with God. In other words, for God to renew our lives, we must be willing to see anew or to see things differently. As Dr. Wayne Dyer says, “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”

Three things, I believe our text (2 Corinthians 5:16-21) suggests we see differently, allowing us to participate in God’s new creation, both in the world and within ourselves:

1. God Calls Us to See Others Differently
• God has offered us redemption, and thereby requires us to offer that same grace and mercy to others. What if we saw all people as valuable? What if we saw others as simply doing the best they can with what they have? What if we believed hurting people simply hurt other people? What kind of world would we have if we committed to offering pardon, forgiveness, grace and redemption to all, even those with whom we rabidly disagree?
2. God Calls Us to See Ourselves Differently?
• God has invested much into us, and therefore God expects a Return on God’s Investment! What if we truly loved ourselves (love thy neighbor AS thyself) and learned to forgive ourselves? What if we saw our role in God’s kingdom as significant and vital? If Christ’s ministry was to reconcile the world to God, then our ministry is to be reconciled with each other. What if we actually saw ourselves as instruments of that reconciliation…agents of God’s love in the earth?
3. God Calls Us to See Our Spirituality Differently?
• We must push past religion into relationship. Religion offers a roadmap to a faithful life, but it can also offer rigid rules, barriers, ritual and tradition that impedes. While we enjoy and even celebrate tradition and ritual, we must not be shackled by it. Instead we must prioritize relationship over religion. What if our prayer life was more like a conversation with an old friend? God calls us into intimate relationship and thereby offers a new mercy every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23). Great is God’s Faithfulness!!