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Your times, seasons and future are in His hands; and as you put your trust in the Lord who loves you with an everlasting love, may you hear His voice speak to you with particular relevance in your situation as we continue to meditate upon the Lord’s word promising His eye of favor upon you over every aspect of your life. [Deuteronomy 11:12] And as seen in the scriptures, Noah responded rightly to God’s favor upon him to build the ark and fulfilled his responsibility, which was the salivation of his household. [Genesis 6:8] By faith he built it as God instructed him [Hebrews 11:7] and the principle it teaches you is that you are called to be a blessing to your family even as He builds your life according to His word, as you love Him and put your trust in Him in keeping His word. It is how He blesses you. You are shaped by scripture, to experience redemption, saved out of sin and also empowered to stay out of sin. He has reconciled you to Himself, through the death of His Son on the Cross. Reconciliation: God has reconciled you to Him, and given you the ministry of reconciliation or harmony. We are created to be in harmony or peace with God, and the peace of God is Christ. [2 Corinthians 5:17-20] We are therefore God’s ambassadors as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf. Be reconciled to God. [Verse 20] But irreconcilable differences between two people is the story of many a marriage in society these days, making divorce a common occurrence. Like in a magnetic field, similar poles seem to make two people go in opposite directions!
Sin, the irreconcilable difference:
God is holy and a sinful man is unholy. And if that be the case, how can a holy God be in harmony with an unholy man? But He did something on the Cross, that we may be reconciled to Him, and also be reconciled with one another. He did something that only He can do, that you may no longer be a sinner, but be His child. In the process He solved the problem between you and another person, and also a problem that could be in your own self, as the apostle Paul describes in his letter to the Romans. But, it is also one that in Christ youcanbev9ctorious, he makes clear. [Romans 7:21-25] Sin dealt with on the Cross: Adam sinned; but it was God who went in search of him, in order to be reconciled in His relationship with him. And He gave His Son, to die as a punishment for our sins on the Cross, dealing with sin once and for all. And in His Body, in His Blood, by His death, for the wages of sin is death, you are reconciled to God, to be in a right relationship with Him. For God was pleased to have His fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His Blood, shed on the Cross. [Colossians 1:19,20]
God made the first move:
For He so loved the world, every person in it, that He gave His Only Begotten Son as a propitiation for your sins and mine, as a propitiation for the sins of the whole world. God demonstrated His compassion towards man in making the first move, in reaching out to him, though he had fallen into sin, but man had to respond to it rightly in order to be reconciliation and experience a restored relationship with God , the fruit of which then reflected in his relationship with other people, in his family and beyond.
Man’s responsibility:
The first man tried to hide from the presence of God, trying to cover himself with an apron of fig leaves, when God stepped in to cover him with what was a foreshadowing of the Cross, the Lamb slain before the creation of the world. Even today man by himself remains selfish, trying to manage by his own efforts, and in the process lives in denial of the problem of sin, that ends up corrupting every aspect of his being. And he needs to repent and reach out to God who is waiting in love, in order to be reconciled.
Realization, regret –> repentance–> reconciliation:
A person stamping your foot, causing you pain, first needs to realize that truth of what he is doing, and secondly must feel bad about it, and not keep doing it. It very simply explains what needs to happen in you, the change in your mind that needs to take place, for sin is very deceitful, before repentance that leads to reconciliation can come to pass in your life with God, and flowing from it, with people. And ultimately the most painful truth about sinning is that, we grieve God when we sin. And there is only way out of it, to also stay out of it.
CROSS -the reconciliation:
Many a Good Friday can come and go in your life and leave you untouched, unless this truth works in you, by the grace of God, for man cannot reconcile or save himself by his own effort. Sin is dealt with only on the Cross of Calvary, and reconciliation becomes your experience, only as you draw near to Christ in repentance. And repentance that is authenticated by your actions that concur with it, becomes possible only with a realization that you are a sinner, accompanied with a regret that you have sinned, and your relationship with Him, and consequently with others, is damaged and broken.
Grace teaches you:
And then reconciliation that happens by His grace, as your sins are forgiven, does not imply that you keep on sinning though, for grace also teaches you to say ‘no’ to sin and ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self controlled upright and godly lives in this present age. [Titus 2:12] For, sin can always deceitfully creep in, but there is always a propitiation for our sins, in Jesus Christ ,the Savior. And it is why dealing with grief, guilt and grudge, rightly by the strength of God’s redeeming grace is important, for it can otherwise take you down sin’s slippery slope. You need His grace to respond rightly and be reconciled to God believing and trusting in the finished work of the Lord on the Cross. Sin takes you away, and keeps you away from God, and it needs to be dealt with. And the Son sets you free by the truth of His word.
He grants repentance:
God exalted Jesus to His own right hand as Prince and Savior, that He might grant repentance and forgiveness to Israel. [Acts 5:31] Repentance becomes possible, as His grace works in you. For, you have a Prince and a Savior who shed His Blood on the Cross, to bring reconciliation between you and God, and between you and another person. May your prayer be that the Lord would probe your heart and see if there is anything hurtful in you, and deal with it, to lead you in the path to repentance. The way to reconciliation, making a sinner a saint is only through Christ. And you need not die in regret, for godly sorrow leads to repentance. Lord, We need you, and your strength to be made perfect in our weakness. Help us by Thy grace to realize and be led to repentance that leads to reconciliation, that our relationship may be restored, and You may be glorified. In Your precious Name, we pray Amen.
