Open for Business; 2 Corinthians 4-6

May the mumbling commence!

Christ is in the reconciliation business.  He is open 24/7.  And all Christians are called to join him in this immense work.  Read from Second Corinthians chapter five:

All this is God's doing, for he has reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ; and he has made us agents of the reconciliation. God was in Christ personally reconciling the world to himself – not counting their sins against them – and has commissioned us with the message of reconciliation.

We are now Christ's ambassadors, as though God were appealing direct to you through us. As his personal representatives we say, "Make your peace with God." For God caused Christ, who himself knew nothing of sin, actually to be sin for our sakes, so that in Christ we might be made good with the goodness of God. (Verses 18-21)

How did God reconcile us?  It was not any effort on our part.  The sins were still there.  They still are.  But, through the work of Christ, our sins are not counted against us.

It is an amazing thing, this grace.  Christ’s way of living knew nothing of sin – though he lived among sinful people.  God made Jesus sin and crucified him on the cross.  Jesus humbly accepted the wages of sin – death.

And God raised Jesus from the dead on the third day.  That is God’s emphatic statement that we no longer have to sweat it.  Works will never reconcile us to God.  For relationship to return to its proper place, we must believe in Christ – the way that he lived life on earth, the way he died on the cross, and the way death was utterly defeated in his resurrection.  Each of these pieces is important.

Yes, the way Jesus lived is important for us to learn and to emulate.  That is why we are called to be reconcilers along with Christ.  The work of reconciliation is never done.

How do we do our part?  We act as ambassadors for Christ.  We think, talk, and walk knowing that we represent Christ to all people around us.  We encourage each other and all creation to make peace with God.  And we offer the path for that peace to prevail in our hearts and minds.  We offer that path to peace that will prevail in our very guts.  We offer the Prince of Peace – Christ Jesus.

That is our simple offering.  But the simplicity of God far outstrips any complexities that humanity can throw at it.

Praise God!

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out