Reflecting on reconciliation

Reflecting On Reconciliation

On 12/26/2022 I was reflecting on the occasion of the birth OF OUR Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I was caught in the wonder of the incarnation- God becoming flesh and transformation of my life to be the exact image and likeness of God as He originally intended when He created man.

Genesis 1 verse 26-28 26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

I want us to think of what God was introducing to us in the verses we just read. Man was created to represent God. This principle of representation is important in our reflection of reconciliation today. The birth of Jesus was an intervention that brought reconciliation of man back to God.

1 Corinthians 15 verse 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

Revelation 5:10 NKJV. And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.

“2 Corinthians 5:16-21 So, from now on, we refuse to evaluate people merely by their outward appearances. For that’s how we once viewed the Anointed One, but no longer do we see him with limited human insight. 17Now, if anyone is enfolded into Christ, he has become an entirely new person. All that is related to the old order has vanished. Behold, everything is fresh and new. 18And God has made all things new, and reconciled us to himself, and given us the ministry of reconciling others to God. 19In other words, it was through the Anointed One that God was shepherding the world, not even keeping records of their transgressions, and he has entrusted to us the ministry of opening the door of reconciliation to God. 20We are ambassadors of the Anointed One who carry the message of Christ to the world, as though God were tenderly pleading with them directly through our lips. So, we tenderly plead with you on Christ’s behalf, “Turn back to God and be reconciled to him.” 21For God made the only one who did not know sin to become sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God through our union with him.

Isaiah 11:3 NKJV. His delight is in the fear of the LORD, And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, Nor decide by the hearing of His ears;

We see representation in death through Adam and in Life through Jesus Christ. I was fascinated by the immense love of God demonstrated by His arrival on earth and filled with hope that He is coming soon. To prepare for His coming I started to think of reconciliation! I am thinking of reconciliation as GOD BEING AT WORK IN THE HEARTS OF PEOPLE WITHOUT MY PERMISSION OR KNOWLEDGE AND I HAVE NO PERMISSION TO HOLD ATTITUDES , EMOTIONS , THOUGHTS OR MAKE DECISIONS THAT ARE INCONSISTENT WITH THE REVEALED WORD OF GOD AGAINST OTHERS. FUNCTION LIKE AN AMBASSADOR.

Let us look further into reconciliation through Ephesians 1 verse 3-5 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4

For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship[c] through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.

Before creation we were chosen in Him. That word “before” is very interesting. Before I even sinned, God had already acted and seen me as holy and blameless. If we are the image and likeness of God, His nature should be our nature too. Through which lens do we see others? Are you , am I a minister of reconciliation? Reconciliation is positional. Reconciliation is experiential and practical. Our Reconciliation was effected by the incarnation, obedience, sacrifice and death of the Lord Jesus.

Romans 5:11 And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

Reconciliation (katallage in Greek) is the restoration to the favor of God through my repentance of my sins and putting my trust in the finished work of Christ. It is the adjustment of a difference- I like that ,In accounting reconciliation is the process of comparing transactions and activity to supporting documentation. Further, reconciliation involves resolving any discrepancies that may have been discovered.

This reminds me of Colossians 2:14 He canceled out every legal violation we had on our record and the old arrest warrant that stood to indict us. He erased it all—our sins, our stained soul—He deleted it all and they cannot be retrieved! Everything we once were in Adam has been placed onto his cross and nailed permanently there as a public display of cancellation.

By faith I adjust any difference in all my relationships in my family , friends -church family through a godly attitude towards them. By faith I/we embrace forgiveness and prophetically lay hold of the Christ attitude and nature of reconciliation towards others today. We take authority and demolish every self and satanic division ,indifference in all our relationships in the Name of Jesus. As God has removed enmity between Himself and I through Jesus I also demolish all carnal divisions between us and others in the Name of Jesus. We uproot the root of counting the wrongs of others against us. Let the love of God flood every part of our soul, spirit and body.

May God ordained and God facilitated mastery of relationships become our experience , practice, and way of life.