Thought of the Day- April 12, 2021

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here”.

  (2 Corinthians 5 :1)

We have just celebrated the greatest feast on the Christian calendar- Easter, a time when we celebrate the resurrection of Christ from the dead and I say “Kalo Pascha” (Happy Easter) to all.

Christ came into this world for the sole purpose of dying for our sins (which he did on Good Friday) and by his resurrection on Easter Sunday when He conquered death- the last enemy (1 Corinthians 15), He makes what is perishable now imperishable. Christ’s resurrection at Easter gives all of us a new birth or a new start in Christ.  The phrase “in Christ” form my Bible passage from 2 Corinthians 5:1 above, means being born afresh or being born in God’s spirit. John 1:12-13 tells us: “yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in His name, he gave the right to become children of God- children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God”[1].When a person is “ in Christ “ that person understands that, Christ is his Saviour and that he or she is a friend of Christ and as such, have a special relationship with Him. Being “in Christ” means, we stand before God, holy, righteous and redeemed, despite our past sins. This makes us a new creation; a new creation meaning we no longer walk in the darkness of sin but in the light of God’s righteousness and hence makes us reconciled to God through Christ. 

The word reconciliation or its Greek translation- “katallage” means to be restored or to change position. Christ by his death and resurrection changes our position as human beings from one of being enemies of God to becoming God’s friends. To maintain this new position if I can paraphrase 1 Peter 2: 1-2, we must rid ourselves of all; malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy and slander and like newborn babies, craves pure spiritual milk, so that by it we may grow in our salvation. So as Easter people celebrating this season as people for whom Christ died, let us remember God has now reconciled Himself to us for our salvation and we as such, now have a responsibility to reconcile ourselves to God and to each other. We need to be right with God and with each other, so that God can make us ambassadors to bring others to also enjoy our new creation in Christ. We need to share the story of Christ’s resurrection so that others can also, come and taste and see that the Lord is good. Christ is Risen, Alleluia!! Amen.

 Prayer: Dear Lord, we thank you for bearing our sins at the cross. We thank you by making us anew by your resurrection from the dead, proving that death cannot contain us if we believe and trust in You. Risen Lord breathe Your Spirit in us and let this Spirit direct our lives in Your way as we go through this life. May we always be blessed because we believe. And may we always continue to live in You so that we may forever be born anew and always know Your love and peace, in Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Hymn: When Peace like a River- please click below.

https://youtu.be/VmvnE6erj6I

[1]  Bible, John 1: 12-13