Point of view makes all the difference. Depending on how you look at a situation will determine in what way you proceed through the circumstances. I remember when Benjamin was in early elementary school, he loved to swing from a particular branch in the maple tree in our front yard. When I say swing, I mean by his legs, spending what seemed like hours upside down and swinging back and forth. It was quite a fete to watch. I often wondered as I watched him swinging in his ‘happy place’ what the world looked like to him? How did taking time to swing affect his mood, his outlook, or his perspective about the world he struggled to inhabit?

Paul says that now we no longer view Christ from a human perspective meaning that the Christ event has now changed all of history. We no longer think only of the here and now but understand a larger vision made possible by the incarnation. This new perspective has also ushered in a new way of being…New Creation! This new way of being gives us the ability to see the world from a new position and posture. We see the world through God’s position and assume the posture of a reconciliation.

This means that we see ourselves not only as humans but agents of God’s presence at work in the world.

“So, if any one is Christ, there is a new creation; everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation…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.” (5:17-18, 20)

These verses reveal to us our position and posture in the world we continue to inhabit.

Maybe like Benjamin, you need to spend some time this Lenten season ‘hanging with Jesus’ allow him to reshape your perspective. I know it is easy to become jaded, unsettled, and out of sorts when we look at the world we live in. Yet being part of new creation means our position gives us the opportunity to see the world from God’s perspective using reconciling eyes and reconciling hearts. Now our posture is that of ambassadors who represent this God who has invited all who will to be reconciled. All it takes is a little time ‘hanging with Jesus’ and all everything changes.

Author: John Prichard

Other Lenten readings for today:

• Joshua 5:9-12; 2
• Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32