Be Reconciled to God

2 Corinthians 5:17-21

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!  18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 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.  20 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.  21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

The word "reconcile" is a beautiful word in the Bible.  I know that this word probably doesn't cause you to think positively about the circumstances because of the meaning.  The word "reconcile" means "to bring into agreement or harmony" and/or "to settle a dispute."  The reason this word may not sound so positive to you is because if we are talking about reconciliation then we are also talking about disagreement and/or dispute.  When it comes to God, the Bible tells us that God is sovereign, God is righteous, and God is just.  The Bible tells us that God cannot and will not allow sin in His presence.  The Bible also tells us that we are sinners.  Romans 3:10-12 says, "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God.  All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one."  Romans 3:23 goes on to say, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."  In other words, our sin has caused us to be in disagreement with God, to be in disharmony, to be in dispute with God.  Because of our sin, we are powerless, even helpless in getting to God.  The Bible tells us in Romans 5:6, "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly."  Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."  I know the word "reconcile" and these passages may actually come across as negative, however look closely at these passages.  The Bible tells us that God did something for us when we could do nothing.  Reconciliation takes place when one party reaches out to another party to establish peace and harmony, to establish agreement.  2 Corinthians 5:17-21 is one of the most beautiful passages of Scripture in the Bible for Christ followers.  The Bible tells us that when we repent of our sin and believe in Christ, we become children of God; we are reconciled to God by God through Christ!  We become a new creation in Christ!  Not only that, but we become ambassadors of God, ambassadors of the message of reconciliation for all sinners!  God doesn't just SAVE us and SIT us.  God SAVES us and SENDS us!

Today, if you are in Christ, I pray that you will consider the reconciliation that has happened between you and God.  I pray that you will, in an attitude of gratitude, tell others about God's goodness, about the reconciliation you have received from God.  Someone you come in contact with today needs to hear the good news of the gospel of Christ.  Someone needs to hear about our sinful condition and God's plan of salvation through Christ and Christ alone.  Someone needs to hear the words: "BE RECONCILED TO GOD!"