15 He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.
16 So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! 17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” 21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
I can see myself looking through one of those overlooking binoculars. You know, the ones you pay like fifty cents to look through, just so you can magnify and see something so far away in a clearer view? I’m standing on a ledge, looking out over a crystal blue lake, trying to see a lone island, green as an emerald, standing in the middle of the vast body of water. As I put my coins in to look I focus the binoculars to the point I believe will allow me the greatest view of the island. I put my eyes to the holes and peak through, adjusting the lenses until I get it to what I feel is the perfect view.
As I’m bending over admiring this island from afar, a man approaches me and chuckles. I look up and see him staring off at the tiny spot of land I was ogling with a slight grin on his face.
“You can see it better up close,” he says.
“I know, but I have no way of getting there.” I reply, a slight tinge of annoyance in my voice as I can feel the seconds slipping away on my paid binocular time. “I can see it fine over here.”
“Yeah, sure.” He says sarcastically, chuckling again. “I know a better way.”
“You do?” I ask excitedly.
“Yes, I do! Just follow me…”
This story reminds me of how we are so enamored and focused on our views and ideas of the world that we decide to watch God’s plans from afar. We stand on the ledge called Commitment and stare off at the little piece of God’s will He has allowed us to see and say, “Wow, God! You really are amazing. I love your plans, but I can see them just as well right here.” We choose to stand on the sidelines instead of getting into the nitty-gritty of spiritual warfare.
Paul called us Christ’s ambassadors (in some versions it says “friends”), and ambassadors are people that go out into the world on behalf of someone. They don’t sit idly and watch it all unfold; they are part of the action. As Christ saves each one of us, He ferries us past the waters of sin and doubt and into a world where believing is seeing and death is merely a doorway into new life, at least that’s the way He wanted it to be.
But sometimes our vision becomes cloudy again. We can’t always see the nest step on God’s path for us, but we can at least see the path and its boundaries. But when we become complacent we lose sight of the path itself. And even more dangerous is shifting our gaze from Christ to the screw-ups other people commit. We were called out of that when we were born again. We no longer have to see other people through our eyes (the binoculars you pay for), we can see them the way Christ does, as beings created in His image, people to shower with the love Christ has so graciously poured on us.
Christ did the hard work. We just have to plant and water his fields. He is the one who is going to harvest it all. We are called to go out in love. He has the full plan; we just have to follow it. So let’s stop looking through our binoculars; let’s stop seeing a small piece of the big picture. Instead, let’s run towards Christ to get a better view of His plan. That way, when trials come around, we won’t lose sight of Him through the storm. We will be on the same boat, ready to take on anything head on together.
16 So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! 17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” 21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
I can see myself looking through one of those overlooking binoculars. You know, the ones you pay like fifty cents to look through, just so you can magnify and see something so far away in a clearer view? I’m standing on a ledge, looking out over a crystal blue lake, trying to see a lone island, green as an emerald, standing in the middle of the vast body of water. As I put my coins in to look I focus the binoculars to the point I believe will allow me the greatest view of the island. I put my eyes to the holes and peak through, adjusting the lenses until I get it to what I feel is the perfect view.
As I’m bending over admiring this island from afar, a man approaches me and chuckles. I look up and see him staring off at the tiny spot of land I was ogling with a slight grin on his face.
“You can see it better up close,” he says.
“I know, but I have no way of getting there.” I reply, a slight tinge of annoyance in my voice as I can feel the seconds slipping away on my paid binocular time. “I can see it fine over here.”
“Yeah, sure.” He says sarcastically, chuckling again. “I know a better way.”
“You do?” I ask excitedly.
“Yes, I do! Just follow me…”
This story reminds me of how we are so enamored and focused on our views and ideas of the world that we decide to watch God’s plans from afar. We stand on the ledge called Commitment and stare off at the little piece of God’s will He has allowed us to see and say, “Wow, God! You really are amazing. I love your plans, but I can see them just as well right here.” We choose to stand on the sidelines instead of getting into the nitty-gritty of spiritual warfare.
Paul called us Christ’s ambassadors (in some versions it says “friends”), and ambassadors are people that go out into the world on behalf of someone. They don’t sit idly and watch it all unfold; they are part of the action. As Christ saves each one of us, He ferries us past the waters of sin and doubt and into a world where believing is seeing and death is merely a doorway into new life, at least that’s the way He wanted it to be.
But sometimes our vision becomes cloudy again. We can’t always see the nest step on God’s path for us, but we can at least see the path and its boundaries. But when we become complacent we lose sight of the path itself. And even more dangerous is shifting our gaze from Christ to the screw-ups other people commit. We were called out of that when we were born again. We no longer have to see other people through our eyes (the binoculars you pay for), we can see them the way Christ does, as beings created in His image, people to shower with the love Christ has so graciously poured on us.
Christ did the hard work. We just have to plant and water his fields. He is the one who is going to harvest it all. We are called to go out in love. He has the full plan; we just have to follow it. So let’s stop looking through our binoculars; let’s stop seeing a small piece of the big picture. Instead, let’s run towards Christ to get a better view of His plan. That way, when trials come around, we won’t lose sight of Him through the storm. We will be on the same boat, ready to take on anything head on together.
