TODAY IN THE WORD
During the recent recession, many people have decided to apply some elbow grease and creativity to turn something old into something new. Author Margot Starbuck applies colorful pieces of fabric to thrift-store clothes to create personalized designer clothes for herself and her family. One store in Zurich, Switzerland, specializes in old furniture that has been repainted with colorful children’s characters. And activity on Freecycle, a Web site that allows users to give away their unneeded items to someone else, has never been busier.

In Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, he describes the believer’s hope of resurrection. The passage begins in verse 1 with a contrast between a temporary “earthly tent” (the body we now have) with an “eternal house in heaven” (the believer’s resurrected body) (v. 1). In this tent, says Paul, we “groan” (v. 2) with a longing to be clothed with our resurrected body.

Though we have not achieved perfect holiness yet, God has sent the Holy Spirit as a “deposit” (v. 5). Because of His presence in our life, we know that we are guaranteed a heavenly future and all that comes with eternity. Even now, He is preparing us for our eternal destiny of life with God.

Our goal in this life is to please God (v. 9). We will appear before the “judgment seat of Christ” to give an account of how we have lived, and our motivation and goal is to have Him pleased with us (v. 10). This new perspective on life changes not only our view of ourselves, but also the way we relate to others. In the second half of the passage, Paul shows how Christ’s love motivated him to persuade others to believe the gospel. We no longer live for ourselves (v. 15). We are now “Christ’s ambassadors” (v. 20), representing the message of His life-changing salvation.

In Christ we are made new: “the old is gone, the new has come!” (v. 17). This is nothing less than a transforming miracle, from the death of sin to life with Christ; “we [have] become the righteousness of God!” (v. 21).

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TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Each of us struggles to focus on life as a new creation in Christ, putting off our old self with our worldly habits. To find our identity in Christ, we must put away “old ways” of evaluating our self worth. How do you measure yourself? How do you evaluate your identity? If you find yourself clinging to an old narrative about yourself—whether defining yourself by failures or successes—relinquish your grip and allow the Holy Spirit to make you conformed to the image of Christ.

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