2 Corinthians 5:14-21 is the culmination of what Paul has been talking about with regards to suffering and our faith. Everyone suffers, but that suffering further connects us with Jesus who joined us in our pain, that God invites us to speak our pain to him, and that in spite of what we are going through, Jesus really does love us. Today, with all that building, Paul declares: 16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! Christ’s comforting love in our lives does not only fill us with hope, it urges us on to see other people differently. As Heaven and earth overlap in the Kingdom of God, we anticipate the coming fulfillment of God’s presence with not only ourselves, but with others.