Voices? Peter, mostly asleep, weighed the value of looking. Only the four of them climbed up here. So, who were these new voices, these different voices? Curiosity defeated slumber, one lid lifted a slit. Blinding light pierced. He snapped fully awake, up on feet, then down to knees. Intense radiance—painful yet enthralling—drew him to … to … Jesus? Yes! Unmistakably him, but Someone else, too. Who was this Being, shining and glorious, known but terrifying and unimaginable even though seen? The man proclaiming Jesus as the Christ eight days earlier truly saw His Lord for the first time.

Likewise, we no longer regard Jesus from a worldly point of view. Overwhelmed by rescue, awed by power, humbled by love, we gratefully accept the ambassador’s commission—the ministry of reconciliation. But bringing the world into agreement with Jesus immediately forces confrontation with those who make up the world. It gets hard to remember that the person we see only dimly resembles who God made him. We get over dismissing the truly disadvantaged—not their fault, after all. Then, we learn that God loves people from the weird cultures, too. But what about jerks, those who act stupidly regardless of race, gender, religion, creed, or national origin? Eventually, we get it; God cherishes even the turkeys.

However, even after regarding no one else from a worldly point of view, we still resist seeing ourselves as He does. The less honest fear His dominion. The more honest doubt His grace. Either way, we impede His appeal of reconciliation through us. We forget the truth that “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”

So, what happened the last time you realized that the old was gone and that you were, indeed, a new creation?

Matthew 17:1-8; Galatians 2:20; 2 Corinthians 5:11-21; Ephesians 4:20-24