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We have spent the last few days considering what God’s justice and mercy look like in terms of caring for the vulnerable and extending generosity, specifically among our needy brothers and sisters. Now we turn our attention for the remainder of the month to God’s justice and mercy as seen through pictures of reconciliation and new creation in the New Testament.
Paul asserts that Christ’s love drives and controls gospel ministry (vv. 11-14). Christ’s love compels because of the certainty of the transforming power of His death and resurrection. “Us” and “we” occur 14 times in our reading for today. For today’s readers, these pronouns refer to all who put their faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection and so “no longer live for themselves but for Him” (v. 15).
Jesus’ death and resurrection transforms us. Now we are reconciled to God (v. 18); now we enter His new creation (v. 17); now we see with spiritual eyes (v. 16); and now we are Christ’s ambassadors, entrusted with the ministry and message of reconciliation (vv. 18-19). How did this transformation happen? While humanity was alienated and estranged from God—as His enemies—God initiated forgiveness that completely restored our relationship with Him. This is called “reconciliation,” and it’s made possible because our sin was dealt with once for all on the cross (vv. 18-19, 21; cf. Rom. 5:10).
Reconciliation as a noun or verb appears 5 times (vv. 18-20), indicating that it is the central theme. As one New Testament scholar puts it, reconciliation is God’s “cosmic restoration” project to make new all that is chaotic and distorted in the world, beginning with His relationship with humanity. God is the first Reconciler. As with His justice, righteousness, and love, we are also called to bear His image as reconcilers. Reconciliation is more than a message; it is a ministry. It is the work of forgiveness and peacemaking and of healing broken relationships, beginning with our relationship with God and extending throughout the whole world. Reconciliation is the pathway to new creation.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
The picture of new creation is astonishing: “The old has gone, the new has come” (v. 16). This is God’s mission in the world through Christ—making all things new. As Emmanuel Katongole and Chris Rice put it, reconciliation, justice, and new creation are not things we strive toward, but gifts of God that we accept. To delve deeper into today’s passage and the message and ministry of reconciliation, work through Katongole and Rice’s book Reconciling All Things: A Christian Vision for Justice, Peace, and Healing.
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