Wednesday, March 18, 2009
2 Corinthians 5:16-21
From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (ESV)
by Susie Sanborn
I find myself using this scripture often for children’s messages at our church. Verse seventeen gives such a clear image of what it is to be made new in Christ. I often use the illustration of butterflies and frogs in these messages. Can you imagine what it would be like to crawl or swim for the first part of your life and then suddenly be able to fly or jump? Freedom is a very good description of what that kind of transformation must be like. It is also what Christians experience when they give their lives to Christ: freedom from sin and freedom to be used by God.
Copyright Information
Daily Bible Meditations are taken from The Helping Hand,a Sabbath School student quarterly for youth and adults. Copyright © 2010, Seventh Day Baptist Board of Christian Education, Inc.
Scripture quotations marked "ESV" are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Text provided by the Crossway Bibles Web Service.

