Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God." 2 Corinthians 5:17-20
One of the most amazing transformations in the entire animal kingdom is the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly. In very simple terms, a caterpillar lives his life crawling around on leaves and, one day, takes a really long nap. Once the nap is over, he is a bright, beautiful, soaring butterfly. The metamorphosis is fascinating! As incredible as the caterpillar's transformation is, the Bible declares that you and I experience an even more amazing transformation when Christ enters our lives. Scripture says that we were dead in our sins, but God, being rich in mercy made us alive. Paul urges the Corinthian Christians to live out this new life in Christ. In a sense, he's saying, " Stop acting like caterpillars -- you are called to butterfly life!"
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"All this is from God who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation..." 2 Corinthians 5:17
Reconciliation occurs when two parties make whatever is wrong between them right. In a spiritual sense, reconciliation first came from God to us when He reconciled us to Himself. He took the things that caused division between us and Him, and made reconciliation possible by dying on the cross and then coming back to life. For those in the faith, we now have the same ability to minister reconciliation to others and that should be normal for us. Be an agent of reconciliation today by forgiving those who've wronged you, and urging others to do the same. Who in your life today needs to experience reconciliation with God and others? and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation..." 2 Corinthians 5:19
We live in a world that has been broken since sin entered it. With the fall, we lost our ability to abide with the Father, connect with family, and share in the expanding mission to be "fruitful and multiply." Mankind longs to be in a right relationship and to experience these transformational relationships, but the reconciliation that allows this can only come through Jesus Christ. We are ambassadors of Jesus, then, with this message of reconciliation. What is an ambassador? An ambassador is someone who acts as a representative of someone else. An ambassador of the United States, for instance, does one thing speaks on behalf of the President. As Christ' s ambassadors, we speak on behalf of our leader, Jesus Christ, and the message with which we are charged is simply "reconciliation." Whom do you know in your circle of influence who needs to experience reconciliation? What steps is God initiating in you to be an ambassador of Christ to that person? Now the Lord said to Abram, 'Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father's house, to the land which I will show you; and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing; and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed." Genesis 12:1-3
In the world we live in today, it is very rare for anyone to drive to a place they've never been before without a map of some sort. Whether it's a GPS in the car or on our phones, most of us use a device that will give us schematic or even turn-by-turn directions to our destination. In fact, during any drive to a new place, we are often completely dependent on our map. As followers of Christ, we are also on a journey with the Lord on which we have never before embarked. While we are on earth, we are headed to a place that we know by faith, but we have never before seen with our eyes, and we are, in essence, dependent on Him for every turn. Think about it: when God called Abram, He didn't tell Abram what the final destination was. There was no address. He simply said, " Go...to the land which I will show you." God invited Abram to put his " yes" on the table, and trust Him. As we spend time with the Lord and hear His voice, he may call us to the unknown, to leave our comfort zones, and follow His leading. Are you open to God calling you away from your 'home' like Abram? Is your 'yes' on the table?" Talk to God about what this means for you. Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." Psalms 46:10
It is God's ultimate goal to be glorified among all the nations of the earth, and He plans to realize that goal. His global mission is to see people of all nations worship Him around the throne (Revelations 5:9-10), but, as the Psalmist alludes, God does not need Jesus followers to accomplish that mission. Nevertheless, God graciously invites believers to participate in seeing that reality come to fruition. A Jesus follower has the amazing blessing of simply being able to rest in the sovereignty of God, watch for His activity, and share in the mission as He leads. How often are you thinking of God's global activity? What are some ways in which He is leading you to share in His global mission? |
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June 2018
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