Reconciliation

Reconciliation

2 Corinthians 5:18–20 “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 wrongdoings 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.” (NASB 2020)

Reconciliation is a two-way street. In this passage we read that, through Jesus, God was reconciling the world to Himself. We also see the effect of His reconciliation of every person to Himself—He was not counting their sins, or trespasses, against them.

This means that as far as God is concerned, sinful attitudes and actions are not what stands between us and God. But reconciliation is not simply God deciding to forgive and forget.

Let’s say that you and I are in conflict. You might want to reconcile. You may tell me that you have forgiven me and there are no hard feelings, and you would like to be friends again. As far as you are concerned, everything is great on your end.

If I still hold a grudge or if I do not trust that your offer is genuine, I may reject reconciliation. If I do, our relationship remains broken. No matter what you do, I am not going to participate in any relationship with you. For my part, I remain at odds, at enmity, with you.

On the other hand, If I choose to believe that your offer is genuine and decide that I would like to have a relationship with you, I also reconcile with you. Now we have a relationship, and we can carry on as friends. There is nothing for me to do but believe you. By believing you, I agree to be reconciled to you.

Notice in the passage above that God reconciled the world to Himself and gave His children the job of pleading with humanity to be reconciled to Him. This shows the two-part process.

Knowing this, and knowing that God is all-powerful, one might be tempted to ask why, since He has reconciled everyone, He didn’t just give everyone eternal life. That is an impossible situation because it is unjust and unloving. If God simply reconciled the world to Himself and there was no need to us to agree with Him that reconciliation was desired, then He would be no more than a supernatural puppeteer, a manipulator controlling us, and forcing His will upon us. We would have no choice in the matter and therefore no love relationship could exist. Since God is good and God is love, this would be inconsistent with His nature.