2 Cor 5:14-21 / Matthew 5:33-37
It is really amazing how children grow even if it is just in a matter of a couple of months.
Yes, they grow in height, in size, as well as in behaviour. They become more and more independent and they begin to have a mind of their own, and subsequently they don't listen to us and they don't do what we tell them.
At times we wish that they remain as those cute darlings that we used to know once upon a time, and when they were totally dependent and obedient to us.
But it is not just only the children who grow and change. We too grow and change, although not as phenomenal as children.
And even in the 1st reading, St. Paul would say that "even if we did once know Christ in the flesh, that is not how we know Him now."
It is interesting that St. Paul said that. Yes, it may mean that the Christ before His suffering and death is not the same as the Risen Christ in His glory.
But it also may mean that we have grown and changed and how we see and understand Christ before may be different now in that we have grown to a deeper love and understanding of who Christ is in our lives.
May we continue to grow more and more like Christ so that we will always say "Yes" to Christ and "No" to the devil.