A MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION

I think that often times we get so caught up in the busyness of doing church, we lose the message of why we exist. As I sit here this morning, contemplating yesterday’s service where we talked about how does God wants us to live life while in we are in exile in this Babylon of our world, I am thinking of how His instructions were permeate our culture…to season to our culture. But, seasoning is not very effective if it only stays in the container.

Among all the good for which the church exists…one of the primary missions of the church is to reconcile people to Christ. We have within us the hope of the world, the message that there is life and freedom in Jesus our Christ. So, while we cannot stop the world from sinning, we CAN point the world to the one who can. We can be salt and light in a dark world. And, folks, THAT is seasoning our culture!

So, as I sit here this morning, preparing for my week, my prayer is that I would never forget how awesome this salvation is! And, I pray that I would never get so comfortable and centered on myself that I forget that there are those still living far from Christ. Paul said it like this in 2 Corinthians 5:16-17: “So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.”

That gives us a lot to celebrate! But, while celebrating is fun and we don’t want to leave the party…sometimes we forget that it doesn't stop with the celebration. We are not just new and free,…. we have a mission. You see, verses 18-20 goes on to say: “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.”

The stakes are high. For some, eternity hangs in the balance. May we never forget that we are called to take this gift of salvation to the world, starting with those we rub shoulders with everyday! Let’s permeate our culture, by being seasoning… salt and light in our Babylon.