Reconciled...

I had been thinking about Mr. Welch’s comment…

“Just a thought – if we were going to think of grace, how about reaching our world? In fact, God Reaching All Cultures Everywhere. How can we do this? We are able to do this as His passionate children reaching our culture in our generation.”

…..along with the 2 Corinthians passage Louie used in the “Fruitcake and Ice Cream” video:

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! 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. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
(2Co 5:16-21) [italicized emphasis mine]

Louie talked about how God has and still is trying to reestablish a relationship with each person in the world….God at work. I noticed the word reconciled…so I looked up the definition:

rec·on·cile
v. rec·on·ciled, rec·on·cil·ing, rec·on·ciles
1. To settle or resolve.
2. To bring (oneself) to accept: He finally reconciled himself to the change in management.
3. To make compatible or consistent: reconcile my way of thinking with yours.
4. To reestablish a close relationship, as in marriage: The estranged couple reconciled after a year.
5. To become compatible or consistent: The figures would not reconcile.

When I used to think about this word, I usually applied the 5th definition, to become compatible or consistent. My thoughts went to reconciling my checkbook with the bank statement. I would look at both to see if they matched. If my check book was less than the bank, I would rejoice (I had more than I thought I had)…but if my checkbook was greater, then I would double check the bank. Some times we think we have more than we should. We say our balance is ok…like that “Good Enough to go to Heaven” mentality. We eventually reconcile (bring oneself to accept) and admit we are wrong.

I was reminded of the 4th definition, to reestablish a close relationship. Mrs. Coiner and I watched the movie “Fireproof” last night. This was truly amazing (and a little close to home). What a visual picture of reconciliation! Also, there were pictures of Grace throughout the movie. I don’t want to spoil anything…so I want go into details. Just to say that when you watch a marriage become reconciled, you see God’s reconciliation in action. You see the relationship come back together as a result of love. The bible calls us the Bride of Christ…What closer relationship is there?

Before we try to fulfill the ministry of reconciliation, we need to make sure we are reconciled to God first! As in any close relationship we need to do this daily....or more often!

I was trying to put together an acrostic for GRACE and came up with God’s Reality After Christians Evangelize.