Re-Created in Christ

“So whoever is in Christ is a new creation:
the old things have passed away;
behold, new things have come.”

1 Corinthian 5:17

You and I were made in the image and likeness of God and were destined to be in communion with Him. However, because of Adam’s disobedience, we lost that likeness and have come to experience the effects of sin — pain, suffering, death, and concupiscence (tendency to sin). But, God did not plan to leave us in that state. So, in the fullness of time He sent His only begotten Son into the world so that by His obedience, God’s likeness in us might be restored and the hope of communion with God for eternity made possible. Jesus has come to make all things new, including you and me.

What does it mean to be “re-created” or “being made new?” Well, we first have to accept and acknowledge that we need this re-creation or renewal. To be re-created does not simply mean we had a malfunction in our system and Jesus came to re-code it. Re-creation is not simply to fix or make clean. To be re-created means to be made into a new creation. By our baptism we have been made new, we have died with Christ and trust that we will share in His Resurrection. Our old selves did not have that hope. Our old selves were destined for hell. But because Jesus came into this world, suffered, died, and rose from the dead we can share in the divine life of God — if we choose to accept it.

By choosing to accept this gift, we are saying we want to be made new in Christ, washed in the waters of baptism, and to conform our hearts and lives to Christ. This is not a once and done event. In being re-created in Christ, we must accept our need for ongoing conversion, meaning that we need to want to reorient our lives to Christ every moment of everyday. We will fail, and sometimes everyday, and even very badly, but we must get back up and walk towards Jesus again — this is ongoing conversion. We need to be honest with ourselves and our weaknesses and bring all that to Jesus, asking Him for the grace to desire to do better and to walk in the path that will lead us to the Father.

Conversion is never easy, but it is worth it. Heaven is worth it. Jesus is worth it. And, we do not go on this journey alone. Jesus walks with us and He helps us up when we fall. He encourages us and affirms us. Since we have been re-created in Christ, He will give us all that we need, and above all else, He gives us Himself.

Brothers and sisters, we have been made new in Christ, let us cast off our old selves and choose to live no longer for ourselves, but for Christ.

Watch this week’s reflection below.

Journey of Faith

“We are always courageous,
although we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight.”

2 Corinthians 5:6-7

Sometimes we may encounter people who seem so “full of faith,” those who always talk about Jesus, live out lives that try to realize the teachings of God. There are also some people who may be “full of faith” who are a bit more quiet or reserved. The approach to their faith may be different, but their commitment to God and His teachings, not one more than the other. It is quite useless to compare our faith with others because each person’s journey of faith is unique. At the end of the day, there is no prize for the most “faith-filled” Christian, for Jesus won salvation for us all. But the question is will we accept it?

Faith is one’s personal relationship with God and the free “yes” we give to Him. Faith is also a journey. It is not a measure of accumulated lessons learned or degrees earned. Faith is one’s personal encounter with the Living God, the One who fashioned us and calls us by name. Faith is a relationship that needs to be nurtured. In the Gospels we hear Jesus say if one has faith even as small as a mustard seed, they could tell the mountain to move and it will, but in Mark’s Gospel, Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to a mustard seed, saying that, like the mustard seed, the smallest of all seeds, yet it grows to be one of the biggest of plants, allowing birds to dwell in it, the Kingdom of God will likewise grow for God wills that all be saved. Like the mustard seed and the Kingdom of God, our faith is not something that is planted today and grows to its full stature tomorrow. It takes time to grow and mature. The Kingdom is constantly being built up and our faith is constantly being challenged and strengthened. No matter where we are in our journey of faith, no time spent on it is ever wasted.

We must always remember that our faith is a journey. There will be times when it’s smooth sailing and other times when there will be jams and detours. Sometimes we will even get into accidents and need to pull off to the side of the road to assess the situation. These moments are not failures. They are each a part of the story of our journey of faith. These moments invite us to reflect on our journey — where am I now and can I see how far I have come and how far God has brought me? Where have I felt God’s Presence strongly and where have I felt His absence? How did I respond? Did I turn to God or did I turn to my own devices?

God allows us to experience these moments on our journey of faith for a reason, never as a punishment, but always a grace and a gift. There is something God wants us to see and learn about ourselves, about others, or about God Himself. So, no matter where we are today, at this very moment — whether on a quiet, moving part of the interstate where the sun is shining brightly (when we feel at a good place with God; when we feel His presence and love in our lives) or stuck behind a car in the middle of a traffic jam in the pouring rain (when we feel stuck or even lost, questioning God’s presence and His love for us), we are moving towards God. Whether our faith is still a seed planted in the ground or a towering plant with leaves and branches, God is at work within us and as long as we desire it, God will continue to draw us closer to Himself, so that the Kingdom might be realized, and we, who are His sons and daughters, might come to dwell in the shade of His loving embrace.

Watch this week’s reflection here.

Created For God

“Everything indeed is for you,
so that the grace bestowed in abundance on more and more people may cause the thanksgiving to overflow for the glory of God.”

2 Corinthians 4:15

From the very beginning of the story of humankind, we have been told that humans were made in the image and likeness of God. What does this mean? It means that God placed within our hearts, our souls, our very beings something that makes us distinctly us — His very breath, His very life. Hence, in the first Creation Account, when we read after every day of creation, God looked at what He had created and saw that it was good, it is only after creating man did God say “very good.” For this reason, the creation of man has been called the “apex of creation.” We are the only ones in the created order that God made for Himself. You were created for God.

At the time of creation, God placed Adam and Eve in charge of the garden, giving them dominion over creation, making them stewards of His creation. Everything was made for man, and man was made for God. Having dominion over something does not mean we are the boss and whatever we say goes. To have dominion over something means to care for it and to ensure that it is being used for the purpose God has created it. In other words, to have dominion over means, yes, to have authority over but also to have a responsibility to preserve it and guide it towards its end. Have we used the gifts God has given to us for the end to which God has intended? Have we used them for our selfish pleasure or have we used them in realizing the will of God for our lives?

We can sometimes forget how special we are in the eyes of God. We are the apple of His eye. We are His beloved sons and daughters whom He has redeemed with the price of the blood of His only begotten Son. The story of salvation is the story of humankind. From the very moment of the Fall, God promised a Savior (see Genesis 3:15). The Bible, the inspired Word of God, is the story of God’s love for and pursuit of His People. We are at the center of the story! It is the story that tells of the unique relationship between the Creator God and His Creation. It is a constant reminder that we are God’s people and that we were created out of love, with love, and for love — that we were created by God, for God.

Brothers and sisters, has this sunk in yet? We are God’s people! We are His very own. The infinite, eternal, almighty God has created us for Himself. He has created us to share in His divine life. May we never lose sight of this throughout the course of our pilgrimage here on earth. No matter how difficult things may be, we must remember that we were created for God, created for heaven. All the struggles here will lead us to heaven. Just as the Lord was with the disciples on the boat in the violent storm, He is with us through the storms of our lives and He will bring us safely to shore, the ultimate shore off of which we find His Father’s House, where He promises He has prepared a room for each one of us. If God has created us for Himself, He will indeed bring us to Himself. The only thing we must do is to let Him.

Watch this week’s reflection below.