Reconciliation –
How Sweet It Is!
by Pastor Bulldog
What is sweeter than when a man and wife make up after a verbal brawl? He realizes he has caused her to be deeply hurt, and she hopes he will forgive her for those ugly names she wanted to call him in a fit of anger.
It is SO nice when, “at the end of the day”, God is able to reach both hearts with a recognition that with God, RECONCILIATION is possible because it has already happened to them in their relationship to God.
If that is so, why then did they let the monsters of doubt, selfishness, pride, indifference, and, oh, so many other things enter into their marriage that are pretty silly when they hold their breath and think about it.
Reconciliation is a beautiful word. If the emotions evoked from the fact and realization of reconciliation could be commercially distilled and bottled, it might be sold by the name of “Eau de endorphins”.
Most of us have probably not experienced domestic difficulties with our spouses – or we will not admit it. But think of what it is like to have a real hurtful episode between husband and wife that seems unresolvable. Both are hurt so deeply that they do not speak.
They are close to breaking up, when, by the grace of God, a mediator steps in, the "comforter," an advocate, or the one that walks along side of them both (John 14:16,26), reminding them that their love for each other is deeper than their hurt - the problem is reconcilable.
Ephesians 5:21-28, is an inspired word picture of what harmonious love and reconciliation can be. Paul wrote that husbands should love their wives and wives to love them back – as Jesus loves the church. In scripture, that is a commandment from God. It's not open for debate.
Christians who let the Devil's intruders sow seeds of deception, cannot love each other with the “For God so loved the world” type of love that only comes from Jesus. Understanding reconciliation and experiencing its accompanying rapsodic emotion is important - nothing like it.
"And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God" (2Corinthians 5:18-20).
There are times when most Christians feel a disconnect from the Lord. The inevitable question appears on the screen of your minds, “Am I saved? Am I REALLY saved?” And then, the anxious cry goes up, “Lord, I believe, help me in my unbelief.”
Whatever cause there is for our moments of weak faith; illness, angry exchanges, disappointments, depression, pain, medications, whatever, it is time to say, “Time out!”. Read your Bible and learn that reconciliation means, “What a relief it is!”
“Hath Reconciled – By Jesus Christ”
Everything is just fine! We've been reconciled to God (meaning we have been changed spiritually, internally, a new creation, old things are not remembered), and we are justified by faith, with access into His grace, with peace that passes all understanding and joy unspeakable and full of glory - ((( WOW! ))) Can you handle it?.
However, if you are still letting your daily walk with Jesus be set aside because you feel guilty about your past sins, which were judged at Calvary, you are smudging your life with lies from the Devil who accuses you of everything you let yourself believe.
God does not accuse you. You are throwing away the abundant life and peace He purchased for you. And that can lead to sin, and sins committed after your having personally accepted Christ, those sins need to be confessed on the spot, or repented of and judged at the Lord's Table – or – at the judgment seat of Christ (Romans 14:10; 2Corinthians 5:10).
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1John, 1:9). The good effect of knowing you have been reconciled is motivation to led Christ lead you into ministry. For that, you have liberty and privilege of accessing grace because – you have been reconciled and are justified by faith.
The “Ministry of Reconciliation”
Why, then, is a ministry of reconciliation necessary if God has already reconciled the world to Himself? What more has to be done?Actually, there are two good reasons; reconciliation is ongoing, and it is also definite and eternal. Christians are hit the heaviest by the Devil, the vengeful “prince of this world”. He lost his battle to usurp the authority of the Son of God and aims to render believers powerless to effectively serve the Lord.
The joy of reconciliation can turn to doubt and guilt can make one shrink from duty or turn to anger and resentment. But He will not forsake you; He will chastize you for present sins, yes, yet . . . "If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny Himself" (2Timothy 2:13).
Unbelievers need to be reached for Christ and to understand that God has reconciled them to Himself by judging their sins at Calvary. But they must reconcile God to themselves by accepting the fact that Jesus shed His blood for their redemption and that He was raised from the dead to reconcile them, otherwise they remain condemned in their sins.
A gift has a giver and a receiver, unless - the gift is refused and left on the table. The gospel is so simple. It is simply belief in the heart and confession with the mouth in a spiritual confrontation with Jesus, Himself. (Romans 10:9-10).
Many times I have had to pause while reading my Bible and remember that the Lord, who spoke the worlds into existance, condescended to make peace with me through Jesus Christ the Lord. He could have, and should have evaporated me in a puff of steam leaving not even a foot print, because no iniquity can come into His presence, for our God is a "consuming fire". Instead He reconciled me by placing my sins on Jesus to be judged at Calvary. Think of that!
“Reconciling the World”
It seems inconceivable to me that one can read the Bible from stem to stern and miss the point of the whole thing, God in Christ? God was in the world long before the advent of His appearance as Messiah, “the only begotten of the Father”.
From His walk with Adam in the garden to the times of the patriarchs, the prophets, and to His appearing as the promised Messiah, He was in the world reconciling it to Himself.
From the time of Old Testament theophanies (appearances of God in various bodily forms, I.e., to Abraham, Moses, Joshua, and the fourth person in the fiery furnace in Daniel) God appeared to man. But God in the flesh, came into the world when the Father said, “This day have I begotten thee”, and Mary had a little baby, conceived by the Holy Ghost, who grew to become our propitiation, our atonement, our redeemer, and our Lord, Master, and King.
By Him and for Him the world was reconciled to God. He appeared to His brethren, the Jews, as “the image of the invisible God”, and “in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily", but they said, "We have no king but Caesar.”
“The Word of Reconciliation”
“And hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation”; given to those who are faithful and trustworthy, whose thoughts are toward the Lord, and who approach His word with eagerness to learn the mysteries of His plans that were formed before the world was formed. Nobody who searches the word of God in order to boast of his own self-righteousness by works, or to warm himself with arrogance, can ever expect to gather gems of wisdom, knowledge, or understanding of what he is reading. To him the mysteries of creation are blocked from view and can only be discerned spiritually (1Corinthians 2:14).
The word of reconciliation (the Bible) is the mind of Christ and by the agency of the Holy Spirit, causes a mind and heart-changing operation – instantly! The gift of salvation is completed reconciliation – it's over, done, nothing more. If someone hands you a gift, you don't take it from him slowly, examine it, set it on the table to see if it explodes, or tell the giver to hang on to it until tomorrow.
“Be Ye Reconciled”
I am troubled when I read that the word of reconciliation says “be ye reconciled” because I know my own heart. I know how many times I have become idle and let the word go by me without investigation. And now I am elderly, but I am not walking on eggs waiting to die. God is never through with His servants until they are called home to be with Him. He simply has changed my ministry to a form that fits my conditions and tells me to "occupy until I come".
To “be reconciled” is the action of a changed people who are active in ministering the gospel to others, whether they are 18 years of age or 99. The gifts and calling of the Lord are without repentance and no servant of God EVER retires. You crave the word of reconciliation. You are anxious to be in the Bible with a daily walk with the author. When you pass by a Bible, there is a tug in your heart that impels you to want to open it up and let the words flutter out and cover you over with deep learning.
That is a hard thing for unbelievers to understand; how ordinary people can find something new in the word of God each day and re-read it every year. We talk to God in prayer, and He talks to us through His written word.
To “be ye reconciled” is to have a regular time with the Lord, a walk in the garden as it was with Adam before the fall. It is to hide the word of reconciliation in your heart. ”This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me” (Psalm 119:50).
Our Commission: Having been reconciled to God by Jesus Christ through the word of reconciliation, we have this ministry of reconciliation, that others will reconcile God to themselves through faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. (2Corinthians 5:18-21). And just when you think that God may be through with you, He reminds you of His covenant of reconciliation He made with you – and you just keep on to the end, being reconciled.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
- Robert Frost
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