2 Corinthians 5:17-21 (NIV)

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.

Reflection:

There are many powerful stories of reconciliation among Christians throughout the world. John Perkin’s story is another remarkable account of forgiveness in the face of racial oppression in the 1960’s. He grew up in Mississippi amidst poverty. One day his brother was shot by a deputy marshal and died in his arms. Because of persistent threats, he decided to move to California where he came to faith in Jesus Christ, and then subsequently returned to Mississippi to share the gospel to others. Again, there was more violence. While being held in a jail cell on trumped-up charges, he was beaten unconscious by the police. But after surviving that unjust beating, John could not hate back, but instead had compassion on his oppressors. That night he prayed: “God, if you’ll get me out of this jail alive, I really want to preach a gospel that will heal these people too.” As a new person in Christ, his heart was synchronized to the heart of God, and later he continued his ministry touching many lives and breaking down racial barriers through the reconciliation he had received in Christ.

In Christ, we have all been reconciled to God and our fellowship with one another in the church is now founded upon this truth. With this ministry of reconciliation in Christ, we now relate to one another in the new. Paul writes to the church in Rome, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” (Rom. 12:18).

Response:

As God’s people, let us spend time in prayer asking Him to transform our hearts so that we may fully live out the ministry of reconciliation in Christ, and relating to one another in the new.