Do you remember the account of Jesus saying that a prophet has no honor in his own country? That has proven to be the truth for every one of us who have had an encounter with God, and then tried to share that dramatic shift in our lives with our friends or relatives. They remember the “old man” of us—not the new person.

But the declaration of scripture is clear, as we read Saint Paul in 2 Corinthians 5.17-19: ‘Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!’ Why, then, is it so difficult for others to see Jesus in us? Because in the flesh the old has not yet gone! We still look like the old guy!

But in the Spirit that one has died, and the new is already present, as Saint Paul reminds us: ‘All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.’ We have been brought to the Lord, and have been made ready for his service—to bring others to him.

Why this ministry of reconciliation? God intends for us—in the flesh, but through the Spirit—to tell others that God wants them as well. Paul continues: ‘that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them.’ All of humanity needs to know they are free in the Lord! He has set each of them free from the old man within them as well! They need to know how much God has given for them. Paul concludes: ‘And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.’ We are to become the new man for them!