Reconciliation

MONDAY November 24

Reconciliation

Read carefully 2 Corinthians 5:18–21. What does it say about reconciliation?

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Reconciliation is the restoration of peaceful relationships between individuals or groups once at enmity. Usually a mediator or negotiator is needed. This practice was used by Paul to explain the Cross.

First, God took the initiative in reconciling sinners to Himself; in other words, despite our sin, God still loved us.

Second, God used a Mediator through whom reconciliation was possible. He “reconciled us to himself through Christ” (2 Cor. 5:18, NIV); He “was reconciling the world to himself in Christ” (vs. 19, NIV). This implies an unbridgeable distance between God and humans, one that required a Mediator.

Third, the object of reconciliation is defined as “us” and the “world.” God “reconciled us to himself through Christ” (vs. 18, NIV). The verb is in the past, indicating that the action it expresses is complete. This means that believers enjoy the benefits and fullness of reconciliation right now. Concerning the world, we read that “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ” (vs. 19, NIV). The context indicates that the reconciliation of the world is still in progress; it is not, as it is with believers, a completed event.

Fourth, reconciliation as a process is formed by two divine actions. One is the divine act of reconciliation on the cross, defined as “not counting men’s sins against them” (vs. 19, NIV). Sin was the barrier that made it impossible for God to reconcile humans to Himself. Hence, we were by nature objects of His wrath. But He decided to allow His love to flow freely toward us by removing the barrier of sin. From the divine perspective reconciliation is the removal of that barrier. The other aspect of reconciliation is the ministry of reconciliation (vs. 18, NIV), the proclamation of the message of reconciliation (vs. 19, NIV) entrusted to us. “We are ambassadors for Christ” (vs. 20), and as such it is God Himself who is “making his appeal through us. . . . Be reconciled to God” (vs. 20, NIV). It is through this ministry that reconciliation reaches its ideal goal, which is the end of human animosity against God.

Is there anyone you need to be reconciled with? If so, how can understanding the reconciliation wrought by Jesus in your behalf help you to be reconciled to others?