DAILY GUIDE DEVOTIONAL: "The Ministry of Reconcilliation"

 

Text: 2 Corinthians 5:11-21

The ministry of reconciliation is the most popular, the most important and the most profitable gift of God to mankind. Verse 19 says "to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself..." This is magnanimous. God is reconciling the whole world to himself. Not just some parts or some race or some religion but the entire world!  He is the aggrieved party in the agreement between him and man, yet he went out of his way to start the process of bridging the gap. And all this he achieved through Christ  whom he in verse 21, "made to become sin for us, who know no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" 

If we truly understand what this means, we shall of all men be most content. We shall be beside ourselves with joy, knowing that the righteousness we have is nothing like the righteousness Adam had. The righteousness this ministry of reconciliation imputes on us is the pure righteousness of God. The great exchange took place. Jesus was made sin by our sin and in the same wise, are made righteous by his righteousness. His righteousness cancelled our sinfulness. He took our place and died the death we were meant to die. He became condemnation that we may become justified. All these were worked out by God's love who also in his mercy did not allow Jesus to rot in hades but resurrected him to life eternal to show forth his creative, redemptive and omniscient personality.

The most exciting part is that God incorporates us into what he is doing. To those of us he has made alive through the power of the new creation, he has given a message "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, he that believes and is baptised shall be saved but he that believes not shall be damned" ( Mark 16:15-16). Isn't it a glorious calling to work in partnership with God? And Paul says in verse 11 "knowing the terror of God we persuade men". The terror of damnation as a result of unbelief in Jesus, who takes away sin, is what we fear. This is what fuels our motive to keep on preaching and talking about Christ so that many will be snatched from  the fires of hell on the coming judgement. The day when everyone will stand before  God (verse10) to receive according to what they have done while in the body whether good or bad. 

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Out of love for mankind which God has shed abroad in our hearts, we persuade men day and night to turn from the unfruitful works of darkness and embrace Christ the messiah and live. For anyone who comes to him (Christ Jesus) he makes such a person, a new creation (verse 17) his old creation nature which he got from Adam's fallen nature, is replaced with a new creation in the image and righteousness of God. So, let us go on preaching, praying and working with God for the souls of men. May we not allow any other motive to replace this "fear of the coming terror". Let God's love propel us to continually preach through every means possible until this reconciliation message reaches the ends of the earth. Amen.