Scripture: 2nd Corinthians 5:17
So then, if anyone is in Christ, that person is part of the new creation. The old things have gone away, and look, new things have arrived!
Thought for the Day: What does it mean to be a new creation? On Saturday, we have a brunch for our baptismal candidates. This was an event I started a few years back as a way of emphasizing the importance of the whole baptismal process. In baptism, one of the theological claims is that we become a new creation. If that is true, what exactly happens? Besides getting a little wet, I can’t say I have noticed any dramatic changes in the baptismal candidates’ physical appearance. There is no glow or aura around them. No one that I have baptized has come from the waters with new insights into the nature of God and humanity. Now some of you might be thinking that I must not be baptizing correctly. Maybe? But I tend to think of the new creation as something God does within us, and then we spend the remainder of our lives exploring what it actually means to be this new creation in Christ. Baptism is an outward sign of our inward belief that God’s loving embrace has claimed us. Even the most thoughtful among us does not recognize the full ramifications of such a claim, and so we spend the rest of our lives being challenged on what it means to live as a part of Christ’s new creation, a new reality where love of God and love of neighbor are the central tenants.
Prayer: As I continue to live into the joyous news of your loving kindness, O Gracious Redeemer, may I allow myself to be continually formed in the likeness of Jesus. I want to be a part of his new creation, and I seek what is necessary to make my life an expression of that new creation. Amen.
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