From This Point On

From This Point On

Cross is a vantage point
Are you alive in Christ? Do you trust in the Risen Christ? Do you feel the joy of his resurrection in your heart? Great! From this point on we are called to live not for ourselves but for Christ. And that is a game changer for sure. Because the cross of Christ is a vantage point.

The world looks different with the eyes of Christ.
People look different by divine standards.
And so do we.
Even God looks different from the cross.
And our destiny, especially, looks different from the cross.

He died for the sake of all so that those who are alive should live not for themselves but for the one who died for them and was raised. So then, from this point on we won’t recognize people by human standards. Even though we used to know Christ by human standards, that isn’t how we know him now. 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! All of these new things are from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and who gave us the ministry of reconciliation. In other words, God was reconciling the world to himself through Christ, by not counting people’s sins against them. He has trusted us with this message of reconciliation. So we are ambassadors who represent Christ. God is negotiating with you through us. We beg you as Christ’s representatives, “Be reconciled to God!” God caused the one who didn’t know sin to be sin for our sake so that through him we could become the righteousness of God. (2 Cor. 5: 15-21, CEB)

Now that we have a new vantage point we are called to embrace the world like Christ. Now that we have been reconciled with God by grace through faith in Jesus, we are called to be Christ’s representatives in this world. We are called to share God’s generous love with everyone we meet. God does not rule with might but with love. And this love changes the world. One person at a time.

Dear friends, if God loved us this way, we also ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. If we love each other, God remains in us and his love is made perfect in us. This is how we know we remain in him and he remains in us, because he has given us a measure of his Spirit. We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the savior of the world. If any of us confess that Jesus is the God’s Son, God remains in us and we remain in God. We have known and have believed the love that God has for us. (1 John 4: 11-16, CEB)

 

Gracious God,
Thank you for the cross of Christ.
Thank you for reconciling us with you.
Thank you for changing our destiny.
Thank you for changing how we see the world, ourselves, and you.
Enable us to love you with our everything and others as ourselves.
Equip us to be your ambassadors of love and grace.
One person at a time.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen

Q4U: How does your life look different from the cross?

Be blessed, my fellow pilgrim, as you share the love of Christ with everyone you meet!

Image courtesy of Nate Johnson. Linking up today with What’s on Your Heart Tuesdays & Soli Deo Gloria.

10 thoughts on “From This Point On

  1. I joined you in your prayer.  The “one person at a time” stood out to me.  So many times I yearn to “reach a million”–but instead I should reach one, then one, then one…  This is my “point to ponder” today. 

  2. This is great, Mari-Anna! I have to remind myself daily WHO I am living for– not for me, but God. I even have “Soli Deo Gloria” tattooed on my left foot as a permanent reminder. Thanks for blessing us with your words today 🙂 

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