Messengers of Reconciliation

Every born-again Christian has a ministry, it is the ministry of reconciliation.
2 Corinthians 5:18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.

Today I want to explain some amazing truths about reconciliation. Before I do we have to start by understanding the true nature of God. In 1 John 4:8 God declares that he IS love, he is not talking about how he feels or what he does, he is describing the essence of his nature. His nature is unconditional love “the unselfish giving of oneself for the highest good of another”.

The reason that humanity exists is because of God’s nature of love. God made us because love needs a way of expression. And love can only be expressed through the context of relationships.

God is the source of all created things, and he made us with needs that only He can meet. So, God’s nature is love and the greatest human need in every person is the need of unconditional love and acceptance.

Let me share a vision I had one day when I was meditating on Adam’s life before the fall. Adam had what looked like two hoses or lines coming out of his body. Out of his lower back there was a huge line that had a fitting that could only connect to God, this was his supply line, he had a second line coming out of his chest with no fitting on it. As Adam would receive the unconditional love he needed from God it would get to a place of overflow and he would be able to love and accept others unconditionally.

When Adam sinned, he was unplugged from the source of unconditional love, and he had to find another source of love and acceptance. Because no one was connected to the source, he could not find unconditional love.

Outside of God’s design love and acceptance has to be earned. It is based on how you look, what you wear and what you do. Some people will only accept you if you look like them, others will only accept you if you dress like them.

The primary way we find acceptance is through behavior.

• With your family you have to behave in a certain way.
• With your coworkers you have to behave in a certain way.
• With your classmates ……..
• With your friends……

The problem is they all have their own definition of what is acceptable.
What is acceptable to one is not to another.

Imagine a plate spinner if you will. Trying to keep so many plates going at the same time. That’s exhausting and eventually something will fall, something will break.

The only way to find true love and acceptance is to be reconnected to the source of love.

Everyone who was born after Adam was born unacceptable to God because of the sin of Adam.

Reconciliation came through Jesus Christ. Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
This redemptive work is often referred to as eternal life. The most used verse is..
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Jesus defines eternal life. John 17:3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

The key word is know. In our English language we think of the attainment of facts, in the Greek this word means to become one with another and produce life.
This word know is the same word used by Mary in her conversation with the angel Gabriel. Luke 1:34-35 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

Through the redeeming work of Jesus you were plugged back into the source of unconditional love and now you can bring life to others. 1 Corinthians 6:17 But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.

How did this happen?

God placed the sin of all humanity, past, present, and future on Jesus on the cross and God poured out His wrath, not on Jesus but on sin and through that one redemptive act the wrath of God was satisfied, and reconciliation was made available to everyone. God judged Jesus so he would never have to judge mankind again.

No one comes to the Father based on what they do or do not do but based on what Jesus already did.

One of the greatest strategies of the enemy is to convince the church that we were saved by grace, but we are accepted or rejected based on our performance.

If nothing you did could make you acceptable to God how could anything you do or not do make you unacceptable?

Think about the Old Testament saints, once a year on the Day of Atonement, they had to bring a perfect lamb who would be sacrificed as their sin offering. Did the priest examine the sinner or the sacrifice?

Satan has convinced us that we are unclean and not worthy of God’s blessing, love or acceptance.

Our right standing before God is based solely on what Jesus the perfect lamb did for us.

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The next time Satan tries to convince you that you are unloved or unaccepted just remind him of Jesus the sinless sacrifice.