"All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation." - 2 Corinthians 5:18
My ultimate joy as a human being is that I benefit from a personal relationship with the Living God of the Universe on a daily basis; a relationship where I walk in intimate fellowship with Him every moment of every day. Sin can separate me from His cherished companionship, but restoration is only a humbled prayer away.
We start out in life as enemies of God. Then, we are reconciled to Him by believing in the saving grace of salvation through the death of Jesus Christ on Calvary’s Cross (Colossians 1:20). We are not only reconciled to God through Christ’s death, but we are also saved through His life! (Romans 5:10)
After walking with God for a few years, we stop noticing his daily provision and protection on our life. We take Him for granted and find less time to spend time with Him or to seek His will. So often we get an idea in our mind and run with it. We go from one worldly pursuit to the next, collecting human accolades and storing up treasure on this earth. We listen to our heart and follow its lead, but the heart is deceitfully wicked (Jeremiah 17:9).
We eventually find our feet far from the path that Christ designed for our life. We suddenly discover that we are walking in disobedience and completely out of His will. Every sin is spawned from one major offense - the sin of unbelief. Unbelief keeps us out of the Kingdom of God on earth and prevents us from enjoying eternity with God in Heaven (John 3:16-18). Humbling ourselves, repenting and returning to Him are the only way out of this dilemma (Isaiah 55:7). He is waiting to forgive you, because He loves you unconditionally.
Once we return to Him and believe in the truths of His Word, He restores us to fellowship with Him (Romans 10:17). We inherit an unbelieving heart from Adam and Eve, but we acquire saving faith through Jesus Christ. He presents us holy in His sight, without blemish and free from any accusation that would condemn us for eternity (Colossians 1:22). This assurance works in our hearts and transforms us from children of darkness into children of light (1 Thessalonians 5:5). Then God launches us into the ministry of reconciliation, to bring this same Good News to all of those, which He places in our lives (2 Corinthians 5:18).
Prayer:
Lord, help me to share Your plan of salvation with everyone I meet each day. Give me Your courage, wisdom and words to lead souls to faith in You. Keep me on a straight path, because of my enemies (Psalm 27:11); and surround me with your angels, so that I will not stumble (Psalm 91:11). Thought for the Day:
When we were enemies of God, Christ reconciled us to the Father through His death.
