2 Corinthians 5:16–6:2 (RSV)
From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once regarded Christ from a human point of view, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. So we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Working together with him, then, we entreat you not to accept the grace of God in vain. For he says,
"At the acceptable time I have listened to you,
and helped you on the day of salvation."
Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
If you are asked who you are, how do you respond? I talk about my family, the circle of people made up of Jackie, my children, and grandchildren. I don't get into too great a detail on my extended family as I didn't grow up in Clayton County. If you want to take a drive over to Hamilton County, well, that's another matter.
I will talk about my profession. I am a pastor of Christ's Church. I am Lutheran by choice (though growing up in Jewell, even the cats and dogs were Lutheran). I would be Russian Orthodox if God did not insist that I remain in the ministry. I write with fountain pens, advocating that every child be given a nice pen, be taught how to care for it, and the schools should teach cursive. Somewhere in the conversation, I would mention that I am an Iowa State Cyclone Football fan.
I am also a new creation in Christ. I don't always remember that as I should, but that is my true identity as a human being. As much as I love my family, as much as I enjoy all the other things I mentioned above, the truth is that I belong to Christ.
St. Paul is correct; from now on, we cannot regard anyone or anything of this life from a human point of view. We are given a new life in Christ that has its beginnings in this world and moves toward the new one. God would have us witness to the transformation of our lives into His righteousness.
We carry with us the Good News that now, this day, is the day of salvation. Salvation is not some far off event that we will have when we are done with this life. We are alive in salvation today. It is the day in which we begin to speak of Christ as the first reality of our lives. We acknowledge that all the blessings of this life are from His hand. They root and ground us in the mercy and grace of the Lord. We see even the tiniest, ordinary thing of daily life as a treasure that helps us love Christ.
Who am I? I am a baptized child of God. I am a new creation through the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord. I am His ambassador sharing the Good News that today is the day of salvation.