Be reconciled to God
(NIV) 2 Cor 5:14 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. 16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Reconciliation means to be reunited, brought back, being restored. I once heard it said this way. God demands holiness, but we are sinners and cannot achieve holiness. Yet, God cannot lower His standards. So because of His great love for mankind He fulfilled His requirement by allowing Jesus to take on the sins of the world and die in our place, thus reconciling us to Him.
The above scriptures have always been some of my favorites. When we receive the free gift of salvation, everything changes. As we become molded into the image of our Savior, we then become ambassadors of the faith. Isn’t that wonderful? We receive salvation by grace through faith, but we become disciples when we answer the call to follow. Discipleship is intentional and leads to sanctification, the act of being set apart for God.
Does being sanctified mean we have to withdraw from this world and lead a holy life in seclusion? Not at all. Sanctification is the maturing process that is all made possible through grace. The disciple who is growing in grace will necessarily seek out people that they can help grow in the faith—disciples making disciples.
May we decide today, if we have not yet been reconciled to God, to bow before a holy God and accept salvation, and then, may we be bold enough to invite others to join us.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
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Seeking Holiness 