Daily Devotional • December 31
A Reading from Isaiah 25:1-9
16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view;even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we no longer know him in that way. 17 So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; look, new things have come into being!18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. 20 So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ: be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake God made the one who knew no sin to be sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
1 As we work together with him, we entreat you also not to accept the grace of God in vain. 2 For he says,
“At an acceptable time I have listened to you,
and on a day of salvation I have helped you.”
Look, now is the acceptable time; look, now is the day of salvation!
Meditation
In Christ, we have been made new. We are new creations, sent into the world bearing the fingerprints of God, our creator, in every aspect of our lives. In Christ, the old has passed away and the very newness of God is made alive in us.
This transformation is entirely the work of God. It is the good news for each one of us today: that God has reconciled us to Himself through Christ. This is not something we could achieve or earn on our own. Reconciliation is God’s gift to us. It is a work accomplished by the power of the Spirit and the merits of Jesus Christ.
Yet, the gift of reconciliation is not meant to be hidden. As those who have experienced the reconciling work of God firsthand, Paul reminds us that we are entrusted with the message of reconciliation. We are sent into the world to be Christ-bearers, carrying out this holy work.
Perhaps it is easy for us to accept, at least conceptually, that we are made right with God through Christ. But I find it more difficult to consider how I am to reconcile with our neighbors around me. And yet, that is precisely the work God calls us to today.
So I invite you to reflect: Who might God be calling you to reconcile with today? How will you respond to this call? May God grant us courage and peace to bear this message of renewal and reconciliation to the world.
Steven McCain serves at St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church and School in Raleigh, North Carolina. He lives in the Raleigh area with his wife, Elizabeth, and three sons, Benjamin, James, and Micah.
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Daily Devotional Cycle of Prayer
Today we pray for:
The Diocese of Kwara – The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion)
The Episcopal Diocese of Dallas
