II CORINTHIANS 5:18-21: “Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” NKJV

OBSERVATION: Imagine for a moment that you stumbled upon the cure for cancer. Everyone has someone in their life who has either battled cancer, is battling cancer, or has lost the battle to cancer. Cancer is a terrible disease that knows no boundaries. It does not matter what your position is in life. Cancer is an evil that is fought every day.

If you stumbled upon the cure for cancer – what would you do?

I know what I would do. I would tell everyone! I would contact the news outlets. I would post it on Facebook. I would tell everyone I knew. I would go to the hospitals and tell the doctors and nurses caring for cancer patients. If I discovered the cure for cancer I would not stop until I had told everyone I could!

We have been given a greater message than the cure for cancer. We have the cure for sin and our separation from God. This is the deep need of men and women. It is the cure that will enable one to persevere through anything and to know that at the end of their life, there awaits them an eternity filled with blessing and provision in the presence of God.

Our message is the only one that can break the power of sin, death, and the devil. It is the only message that can lift one above the daily trials of life and enable them to walk in victory above every circumstance that they face. It is a message that we should be moved to share with everyone and anyone.

It is the message of – RECONCILIATION!

Reconciliation is the act of taking two people who were separated and bringing them into a close relationship once again. Sin separated us from God. Sin destined us to an eternal life of punishment and misery apart from God. Jesus Christ came to offer Himself, in our place, as the sacrifice for our sins. When we place our faith in Jesus Christ we are united once again with God.

We are – RECONCILED TO GOD!

• “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

Recently, a dear friend of mine had a very serious accident. As he lay in his hospital bed, immobilized by the accident, an attending nurse was sharing all the problems she was facing. This friend, broken in body, but alive in Christ, told this nurse about the promise of reconciliation and the power of faith in Christ. He invited her to give her life to Jesus Christ and she accepted the invitation to be reconciled to God.

The power of reconciliation is greater than the power of sin, sickness, and death. To be reunited with God through Jesus Christ is to be given the grace to face anything in this life and to live in the hope of eternal life. It does not matter what we are facing in this life we walk in the assurance of faith and are anchored from the storms of life through the hope of the life to come.

When Jesus came to this earth, He came to reconcile us to God the Father. When He died and rose again from the dead He gave us, His church, the ministry of reconciliation. We have been reconciled and commissioned to be His ambassadors in a world that is suffering from sin, brokenness, and separation from God. Paul understood the importance of this call when he wrote,

• “Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.”

If we knew the cure for cancer – we would be pleading with people who were suffering from cancer to take the cure. We have something greater than the cure for cancer. We have the cure for sin and death. We have the cure that reconciles one to God and ensures them of eternal life. We have been commissioned to proclaim to those we know and love…

BE RECONCILED TO GOD!

This Christmas season we celebrate the gift of God’s Son coming to the world. Yet, this celebration does not end at the manger. It leads to the cross. It was a coming with purpose. Jesus Christ came to give His life so that we can be reconciled to God. As Ambassadors we are called to share this gift (cure) with everyone we can. It may not be a popular message and it may not be received by those we share it with. Yet it is the only message that can give them life, eternal life.

What will we do with this message?

Lord, fill me with the Holy Spirit and the urgency to proclaim the message of reconciliation through faith in Jesus Christ. Help me to be like my dear friend who, even from his sickbed, reached out with love and compassion so that one lost soul could know Your great love. Help me proclaim with both love and urgency…

BE RECONCILED TO GOD!

In Jesus’ Name!