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2 Corinthians 5:16-21
On Monday we talked about how Paul definitely had a different idea about his suffering. Even in his old age he found a renewal of his mind. That even if it meant death, Paul was totally ok with that. He recognized his weaknesses, and yet he’s confident that the light of the Gospel will overtake the darkness of this present age.
Why do you think that Paul believes in this way? Why do you think that we could thing that way? Given the world’s circumstances, why would any of us believe this is true?
It’s simple, we fix our eyes on Christ by committing to prayer, reading His Word, lamenting with others, being with the body of Christ regularly, and submitting to God’s will. We can do this because we in our times of suffering can be practice praying laments, and joining with others in lamenting. All of these things help us to realize that we are not alone. And that there is a renewed sense of purpose for our lives even in the midst of suffering.
2 Corinthians 5:16-21 (NIV) 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. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 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. 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. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
When we see someone in pain, we can now be the ambassadors of Christ, and bring the very Spirit of God that is within us into the darkness of the suffering.
When someone experiences pain, part of being a new creation and living out our gospel identity is to work toward reconciliation. Being now “in Christ” we are to bring the peace and love of Christ to our communities and neighborhoods.
That part of the Great Co-mission, where Jesus tells His Disciples to Go and baptize… that going is really the thought or idea that in your goings and comings, the everyday things that you do, bring the presence of God – Father, Son, Holy Spirit with you. It was less about water baptism, as many of us think, and more about immersing people around us in the presence of God. One way we can do this is by being with someone in the midst of their grief and lament.
Aubrey Sampson writes, “No matter where you live or where you come from, it is within your power to love your neighbor. As you lament, you reveal the compassionate hope of Jesus to a world in need” (Aubrey Sampson, The Louder Song, 87).
When Paul writes the Church in Rome, he includes a section about love in action in chapter 12. Right in the middle of that section he writes:
Romans 12:15( NIV) Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.
Why – because it’s our renewed purpose. This is what Christians do. We walk along side others, Christian or non-Christian, we walk with people who are going through life both good and bad times. We are the hallelujah in the middle of the storm.