PASTOR MIKE’S MEDITATIONS

March 2020

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, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 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 men'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.  ~2 Cor. 5:16-21

As we enter into Lent, it is my deep desire as a pastor that each member and friend of Sierra Presbyterian Church experiences growth and maturity as follower of Jesus during this season.  One possible way to frame this process is through the three-fold experience of reconciliation that Paul outlines in 2 Corinthians 5:16-21.  There Paul prioritizes our reconciliation with God.  God has reconciled us to himself through Christ and later we are implored to be reconciled to God.  So, it is God who initiates the process of reconciliation (growth) and the one who accomplishes it through Christ.  Our growth is therefore God’s work in us.  He is the one who makes Christ (who had no sin) to be sin for us in order for us to be brought back into a right relationship with God.  “All this is from God.”  He is the author and perfector of our salvation.  Our maturity in Christ begins with our reconciliation with God through him.

            Our reconciliation with God should then lead to an inner reconciliation where we are increasingly reconciling our inner world with God and so becoming new.  If we are in Christ, Paul says, we are a new creation, the old is gone and the new has come.  Of course we are all in the midst of the process of becoming the new creatures God has called us to be.  But when we have accepted Christ’s death on the Cross for our sins as the source of our reconciliation with God, the cure has begun.  In fact, Paul presents it as an accomplished fact or established state, “he (or she) is a new creation.  So our internal reconciliation has both been accomplished in what Christ has done but is also being worked out what he is doing to transform us within even now.  I love the way Robert Boyd Munger illustrates this in his famous My Heart Christ’s Home, where Christ comes into the various rooms of a man’s heart to transform them for him.

            Thirdly, our reconciliation with Christ that leads to inner reconciliation will have outward manifestation.  Just as God has reconciled us to himself through Christ, He has given us the ministry of reconciliation.  This includes the message of reconciliation, that God has reconciled sinners to himself through Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross, that He has committed to us.  Armed with the good news we are then to go out as Christ’s ambassadors as though God were making his appeal through us.  In other words, people are looking at your life for evidence of the difference that God’s grace is making.  Ambassadors are those sent out on behalf of someone else.  In our case we are sent to represent Christ and He is appealing to others to be reconciled to God through us.  While our maturing process begins with our reconciliation with God as he transforms us within, our growth will become stunted if we fail to fulfill our call as ministers of reconciliation sent by Christ into the world.  As someone once said,” if we don’t go we won’t grow!”  And so it is as we experience this three-fold reconciliation with God, ourselves, and others that we can experience the growth and maturity that Christ intends for us during this Lenten season.

With You on the Journey,

Pastor Mike

Our Unsung Servant of the Month is Marilyn McElroy!  Marilyn is a faithful servant of Christ who heads-up our Memorial Reception Ministry.  She takes great care to help develop an environment that is warm and welcoming for memorial service attendees.  Marilyn is also an inviter.  She regularly invites neighbors and friends to come and see what Sierra Pres. is all about.  We invite you to express gratitude to God for his servant Marilyn!