Thursday after the Sunday after Ascension, 5/31/012 Corinthians 5: 18, 19 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. --NASB In the name of the One through Whom we are reconciled to God, amen.
The Christian ministry is a ministry of reconciliation, or more properly, proclaiming reconciliation. In Christ Jesus we have been reconciled to God. The ministry is all about spreading knowledge of that fact around. It is the knowledge of reconciliation that creates faith in the heart, and faith is what connects us to our reconciliation.
An illustration might be this: Suppose you did something very bad to your father, so bad that you knew you were not welcome in the house. So you ran away and avoided your father. But you struggled in life, and things were going very badly for you. Then, your big brother went to your father and took the punishment that you deserved, and your father wasn't angry with you any more. Now you could return home. But as long as you didn't know you could return home your brother's help wouldn't do you any good. Then suppose that your brother sent someone to tell you that everything was OK between you and your father. Once you knew that everything was OK, you could benefit from your brothers action. That is what the ministry is all about. It is about telling people that Christ Jesus took their punishment, and they have been reconciled to their heavenly Father. Amen.
Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for reconciling us to our heavenly Father. Thank You also for giving us the holy ministry, so that we know that we have been reconciled to the Father. Keep us in our faith through the Holy Spirit, so that we may always praise and glorify You, amen.
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