Praise God for the blessing of reconciliation! The coming together of two parties that have had a disagreement; a ‘fall out’ in which one or the other, or even both, have been hurt or offended. It can happen to any of us. It has to me and maybe to you too. But what a relief and a blessing when the ‘fall out’ becomes a ‘fall in’. Friendship and fellowship are restored, repentance and forgiveness meet, and we move on into a new fullness of God’s blessing.
Whatever the offence, I believe that for us, as children of God, reconciliation is possible. Just think of it; we are “In Christ”, and the greatest act of reconciliation has taken place in our own lives. As human beings, we inherit a situation that happened long ago when “…through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, so death spread to all men” Romans 5 v12. What a disaster; but praise God that is not the end of our story. Ephesians 2 v4 assures us “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ; by grace you have been saved”.
It is a great and wonderful truth that we are indeed a ‘new creation’ in Christ. Old things have ‘passed away’ and all things have ’become new’. God himself bridged the gap that separated us from Him. Colossians 1 v22-23 tells us that we were once alienated from God, but that through Christ’s death we are reconciled. Not only that, but we are “without blemish and free from accusation”.
Praise God for the blessing of reconciliation and the practical ways it can work in us and through us as we share the same grace, love, acceptance, and forgiveness that we have received. Paul goes so far as to say that through Jesus Christ, God has “given to us the ministry of reconciliation”. I believe that applies to all of us. Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God”. May the ministry of reconciliation flow through all our lives with all its healing power.
Be blessed,
Eddie.