16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
How very often in my life I have come to realize (or re-realize) that I am a sinner, saved by grace. It is one of the earliest lessons from the Lord that I was to face. To come to that place within myself were I realized that there is nothing in this world or in the next that I can do to reconcile myself to God. It is only through the blood-work of Jesus that we are able to approach God, ask for forgiveness, receive that forgiveness and live the life that He has planned for us. This verse clearly states that God isn't counting our sin against us, but rather He is about the work of reconciliation. Furthermore, we read here that He is asking those who are reconciled to be His ambassadors and to share with others the reconciliation to God that we have experienced, so that they too may be reconciled to God. When I first became a believer, this sort of scared me. To think that the Lord would place such a huge task on us.....on me!.... I wasn't so sure about that. Then as I matured a bit in my relationship with Him, He began to show me that to be an ambassador simply means to tell others of what He has done in my life.
He began to orchestrate "divine appointments" in which He simply asked that I listen to Him, talk as He allowed opportunity and from time to time, He allowed the honor to lead others into a relationship with Him. All of these things, I came to accept over time spent with the Lord in prayer, study and reading of His Word. Slowly, He revealed to me that He is wanting to use me to advance His Kingdom. This is what He wants from each one of his beloved.
When I read the last verse of Chapter 5 though, I have a harder time accepting the idea of becoming the righteousness of God. It is at these times that I can think of a thousand reasons why there are a thousand other people who He should be asking this of. But, if I believe in God's Word, then I believe that His Word is true. If I believe it to be true that He set me free from sin and death, then I must also believe that He is calling me the righteousness of God. To not believe what He says is to in effect believe that He is a liar. Knowing that He cannot lie, I must then conclude that He considers believers to be His righteousness.
So many times, it is easy to think of ourselves as sinners, but to go to the next level of relationship with Him requires us to think of ourselves as His righteousness. Not by any of our own doing, by no means at all! We couldn't do any good on our own....none! Rather, through Him we are made holy, we are called dearly beloved, redeemed, forgiven, we are chosen by God to do His works that He preordained for us to do, hidden in Christ, made in His image, reborn, remade, accepted, worthy, and unconditionally loved by the Creator. This is who He says you and I are as believers!
Let's begin to live our lives in faith, stepping where He leads us to go, running when He says to run, going where He says to go, and resting in Him daily to be renewed and strengthened. Let's live the life that He has predestined for us as dearly loved children of the Most High!
This scripture gives me great hope while reminding me that He is God, He is the One that makes everything good in me.....well, good. Only through Jesus is it possible for man to be able to come into relationship with God. All praise and glory be to the One who is able to do far more than we could ever hope, dream or imagine. Let's head into 2011 with a new knowledge and/or understanding of not who we are...but Whose we are!
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