Theological Reflections: A New Creation in Christ

The Second Reading from this past Sunday spoke of us being a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17-21). This usually leads to many Evangelical Christians to take the approach of saying that I am Saved! In the West, we tend to have a very black and white way of thinking when it comes to defining moments in our lives. In some ways, that puts an unbelievable amount of pressure on us because we are human beings, which is why many have a theology that uses Christ as a filter between humanity and the Father, almost as if God is playing games with Himself in order to see us the way He wants to see us. No! God sees us the way He made us, which is good (Genesis 1:31).

Yes, we are sinners but every day and every moment of our lives gives us a chance to start anew. Still, it is amazing how so many of us love stories that emphasize the journey and yet fail to see that in the real world when it comes to the way we live our lives. Our favorite stories always have great characters who fail and succeed, who learn and grow to become better people, which is why many of us relate to such characters.

We cannot grow without experiencing the same things. Take for example those who need to go to rehab for substance abuse. Many of them fall off the wagon but failure is usually a part of the process, not the final outcome. The key is that they don't quit. They refuse to give up. They start over and do all that they can to remain sober both through their own efforts as well as through the assistance of their support group. Finally, even when some are successful on such a journey they still see themselves as an addict to remind them that their journey is not over.

Living a life of holiness is the same thing. Even the greatest saints failed so there is no reason for us to feel a sense of hopelessness. We follow Christ. We sin. We go to Confession, seek amends from those that we may have hurt and try again. Some of our sins are truly a vice that hold on to us in some of the most painful ways but as we move towards Christ He also reaches for us and as long as we are open to His grace there is that chance that we will allow Him to transform us. Therefore, while Christ's death on the cross was a significant moment throughout all of human history our salvation is a process. We are being saved! That is our human story because that is our human reality (Philippians 2:12). After all, do we not also speak of God still fine tuning the universe? Well, we are part of that creation and while we are imperfect we are still good. That is why God is merciful.

Consider the photo below. It is a beautiful plant that has broke through a hard surface. It's beauty and goodness cannot be contained. Is it in its final state of existence? Hardly. It will grow and become even more beautiful. It exists in the way that God made it and it is beautiful part of this universe that is still growing.

Such an idea also applies to humanity.