RECONCILIATION WITH GOD
Reconciliation is the term used to describe a cessation of hostility. The reason for hostility between man and God is man’s choice to sin and rebel against God. There can be no union between light and darkness; between God and sin. So the introduction of sin through Adam and the propagation of sin by every man thereafter has become the reason for hostility between man and God. If there can be no union with God, man’s life becomes empty and a mere shell of what it ought to be.
Thankfully, God sent Jesus to die on the cross for man and provide a pathway for reconciliation. When Jesus died on the cross for our sins, an avenue for forgiveness is created for those who believe. Additionally as we become united with Christ on the cross and through his resurrection, ‘Christ in us’ makes it possible for God to view as no longer as the sinful people we are, but rather declared as the righteous in God’s sight. This makes true reconciliation possible despite our residual sinfulness. Paul captures this well,
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:17-21)
Because we become the righteousness of God, reconciliation with God comes home to us. Consequently we become a new creation for Christ wherein our lives are transformed by the indwelling presence of God. We also become ambassadors for God, making known the reconciliation message to others and helping God unite others to him with this unique life transforming message. The fullness of reconciliation made real in us flows out to help reconcile those around us.
