“Our
new life in Christ is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And
God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. – 2 Corinthians 5:18
One of Paul’s favorite
topics is God’s message of forgiveness and the ministry of reconciliation. The word reconcile in 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 is the Greek word, “katallage”, which means to
restore to divine favor. In other words, reconciliation means to transition an
enemy to a friend. While sinners, we are God’s enemy; but through Christ’s
sacrifice on Calvary’s cross He makes us consecrated friends with God (James
2:23). Then, God entrusted us with the
ministry of reconciling others to Him.
The eternal destiny of every
soul depends on whether or not he/she is reconciled with God. This should stir
us to eagerly take part in this ministry of reconciliation with everyone we
meet. This is not a difficult task. We simply tell people, “God took Christ,
who knew no sin, to represent our sin and to receive the punishment due for our
sin in His death on the cross. So that we, who were enemies, alienated from God
by our own sin, might be reconciled back to God!” (2 Corinthians 5:20-21).
We see a pattern for
reconciliation in the story of the Prodigal Son. His rebellion against the
Father leads to his ruin. Then his repentance leads both to his reconciliation
with his father and also the restoration of his position in the family (Luke 15:11-32). Jesus’ sacrifice paid our debt, reconciled us to God
and brought to us the restoration of our position in God’s family. Jesus made
peace between God and mankind through His blood, which He shed on the cross (Colossians 1:19-20).
Another aspect in our
ministry of reconciliation is that we settle differences with our friends,
relatives, associates and neighbors as well as with God. If someone has
something against us, or if we are harboring an offense against someone else,
then God wants us to reconcile with that person (Matthew 5:23-24). We do this by asking forgiveness for our misbehavior against them, and
by forgiving them for their transgressions against us (Matthew 6:14-15). When we reconcile, we remove the wedge Satan planted
between us to prevent us from loving one another as Christ commands us to do (Matthew
22:37-40).
A third aspect of
reconciliation is that even Creation is eagerly waiting for the restoration of
all things that will take place once the sons of God are revealed Right now,
Creation is subjected to frustration because of the choices made by Adam and
Eve on that fatal day in Paradise. Creation is groaning in pain, such as women
experience in childbirth. All Creation waits for its liberation from bondage to
decay; so that it also can once again experience the glorious freedom of the
children of God (Romans
8:19-22). We do not realize how much we
and Creation lost with Adam’s sin. However, because of Calvary, we have the
confidence that everything Satan stole in Genesis, Jesus will restore to us and
Creation at His revelation with His Bride in the end times.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, Your death on
the cross opened the door for all mankind to be reconciled to our Heavenly
Father. We thank you for Your transforming love that heals our wounds, which
divide us from one another and for forgiving our sins that separated us from
You. We recognize the power of Your grace and mercy in our lives and we come to
You in humility, presenting ourselves to You as a living sacrifice. Give us the
humility to reconcile with our family, friends, neighbors and associates. Then
use us according to Your will to bring reconciliation between them and You, so
we may all enjoy eternity in Your presence together.
Thought for the Day:
As flawed humanity, if we
place our faith in God, He freely forgives our sin and reconciles us to
Himself. 