2 Corinthians 5:16-21
16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. 17 So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. 20 So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
…in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us.
Jesus came into the world for one purpose, to reconcile humanity with God. Everything that he did during his life and ministry among us pointed to the cross and the empty tomb.
Some Christians will tell you that this was transactional – that Jesus took our place and accepted the punishment for our Sin. Others will tell you that Jesus went all the way to the cross to show us how completely God loves and forgives us. There is a good Biblical foundation for each of these explanations.
So, whether Jesus won our salvation, or proved it, our response is the same. Our relationship with God is reconciled (restored) through God’s unconditional love and forgiveness. Being on the receiving end of that kind of grace makes us new creations in Christ, who have been entrusted with God’s ministry of reconciliation. Because we have been loved and forgiven completely, our response is to love and forgive in the same way.
Prayer: Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. AMEN