Reconciliation
2 Corinthians 5:18
All of these new things are from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and who gave us the ministry of reconciliation.
Second Corinthians is one of Paul’s most personal and heartfelt letters. He was the founder of the congregation at Corinth, but a serious conflict (most likely due to a change Paul felt compelled to make in his travel plans) created a serious rift between Paul and the believers of Corinth. This conflict led them to entertain rival missionaries that questioned Paul’s authority and led them in directions which Paul did not like. Additional letters between Paul and the church, which he references, led to his reconciliation with them. In this context, Paul reminds the people of Corinth of the basis of their salvation – their reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ. He goes on to instruct them that through the ministry of reconciliation, they are to be ambassadors representing Christ in the world. As God has forgiven them and no longer counts their sins against them, they (and we in our time) are to forgive others and extend grace.
Think what reconciliation would look like in the 21st century. If all human beings accepted salvation through Christ and then extended grace and peace to others, there would be no more wars, no more violence toward one another, no more arguments about who is “right” and who is “wrong” because we would recognize that we are all made new in Christ and all the old disagreements are simply irrelevant.
I confess that I am a confirmed optimist who always expects the best, but even I realize that this scenario is not going to happen because
- We are imperfect in our humanity.
- There are evil forces at work on earth that only God can overcome.
Even the most devout Christians among us fall short in striving to be like Christ, and we see evil at work in the world every day if we read a newspaper or watch the news.
That does not mean we are powerless in the face of evil and unable to follow Christ’s commands. Having confidence in our salvation and our mission as followers of Jesus enables us to take action. We can serve others in need, we can proclaim and live out our faith, we can be in constant prayer for others, and we can do our best to reconcile damaged relationships, We can be ambassadors for Christ in a broken, hurting world without being overcome by it.
Let us pray.
Father, we thank you so much for the gift of salvation, our reconciliation with you through the death of your son on the cross. Help us to be bold ambassadors for You, encouraging others to seek and accept this gift, and to live in a way that pleases you every day. Amen.
This devotion was written and read by Pat Scruggs.
Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.
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First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.
