Jan. 8th, 2016 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 (Message)

Jan. 8th, 2016
2 Corinthians 5:17-21
16-20 Because of this decision we don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don’t look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you.

21 How? you ask. In Christ. God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God.

This is a very familiar passage.  I have heard it, read it, quoted it... so I choose to write it out in the Message as that is so different from my almost stagnate memory of this verse.

In doing so it came alive again!  
I just finished a book on seeing ministry through the example of the Trinity.  In this book we see first that we had to understand each person of the trinity and how the three are one.  Then we begin to see the joy filled intimacy that they have.  We see how that Joyful intimacy creates glad surrender to each other because of the joy the experience in their relationship.

Does that joy filled intimacy in relationships describe us?  Do we enjoy being with other believers?  Or do we 'forsake the fellowship?'  Maybe we enjoy some of the people but not all... 

Do we see others as objects and if those objects do nothing for us we ignore them?  Or do we recognize each individual has unique gifts that will complement the whole? 

Yet the basic premise of it is this "Before you can have God’s heart for others, you must know His heart for you.”  If you are lacking in understanding the true intimacy of the Father to the Son to the Holy Spirit, then you can not begin to fathom the intimacy that He has for you.

Are you seeking God FIRST before all else?  Ministry flows OUT of worship and love for our savior.  Relationships flow out of a relationship with our father!