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 The Messengers of Reconciliation (March 20, 2023)

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians 5:17-20)
As rebellious humans, we were once estranged or separated from a righteous God because of our inherited sinful nature. God is gracious and longsuffering toward us, but He is just and ultimately must punish our sins. The highest expression of His divine love, God gave His Son Jesus Christ to bear the burden of our transgressions and die in agony on the cross to redeem and reconcile us to God. Jesus bridged the humanly impassable gulf between us and our heavenly Father so that we could tap into His grace by faith in Christ, be forgiven, and receive His unmerited gift of salvation.
Before we professed our faith in Jesus, we were enemies of God, but in Christ, our fellowship with Him has been restored. Just as God has reconciled every believer to Himself through our acceptance of the sacrificial death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus as the only means of salvation, we have become new creations in Christ. As the adopted children of a loving God, we have been entrusted with the responsibility of sharing this message of reconciliation so that lost souls might also believe and eternally experience God’s saving grace.
As the earthly witnesses and ambassadors of the LORD Jesus, we have been made stewards of the Gospel and ministers of reconciliation. We have been commanded to go and tell others within our spheres of influence of what Christ has done for us and that He desires to do the same for them -- to free them from the bondage of sin and spiritual death and give them certain hope of an eternal heavenly home, once our labors as faithful ambassadors and messengers of reconciliation are completed and we go home to be with Jesus forever!
“For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” (Romans 5:10)


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