Jane Cooper
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. ...”
When I was about six years old, I began taking piano lessons from the only piano teacher in town. The inside of her house was dismal and filled with huge, dark furniture. She was totally old-school, strict and domineering. If you made a mistake while you were playing, she smacked your hands with a wooden rod. No matter how hard I practiced, and how well I had the piece memorized, I was sure I would mess up and get hit with that stick. I would come home in tears, and my mother would say, “Just do the best you can.” Believe me--I was motivated to do the best I could! But I knew my best would never be enough.
Because Christ died for our sins on the cross and rose again, we need not fear punishment for our mistakes. We still need to do the best we can, to develop feelings of self-worth and to set a good example for others. But we need to gain confidence without conceit. Work toward strength, but care for the weak. Be glad in our successes, but retain our humility. We can never be worthy of the sacrifice Jesus made for us, but we can strive to be the best we can be.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, we thank you for sending Jesus Christ to redeem and reconcile us to you. We ask that the Holy Spirit would be present with us every day to guide us to be the best we can be, so that others may be drawn to you and see the joy we have as disciples of Christ. Amen.
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