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Answer
Reconciliation is the restoration of a relationship to a harmonious state after a dispute; it is the bringing of accord out of discord between two parties. Christian reconciliation is the work of God through Christ by which He restores mankind to a favorable relationship with Himself.
Christian reconciliation can be illustrated by two former friends who are now in conflict. The positive relationship they once enjoyed is strained to the breaking point. They stop speaking to each other, and gradually become strangers. They may even be actively hostile toward one another. But then one day something happens. The two estranged friends begin to talk; pride and resentment are set aside; apologies are extended and accepted; trust is rebuilt. When peace is finally restored and the friends embrace, reconciliation has been achieved. Now, imagine that, between the two friends, only one was at fault. And the other friend, totally innocent, is the one who initiated the conciliatory process—that is what Christian reconciliation is like, as God has reached out to sinners.
Reconciliation necessarily involves change. In Christian reconciliation, God does not change. He remains perfect. But He changes us. As a result, our relationship with Him changes.
The means God used to reconcile us to Himself was His own Son, Jesus Christ: “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” (2 Corinthians 5:18-19). In fact, it was “while we were God’s enemies [that] we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son” «For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. », <a hre
(Romans 5:10). Jesus’ death makes all the difference. When Christ died, He was “making peace through his blood, shed on the cross” «and, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. », (Colossians 1:20).
The need for reconciliation indicates that our relationship with God was broken. Because God is holy, we were at fault. Our sin separated us from Him. Jesus Christ’s death on the cross is the foundation of our forgiveness and justification. Through grace and faith in His Son, God transforms us into the likeness of Christ. The union of God and man occurs: those once spiritually dead are given new life. “We are no longer enemies, ungodly, sinners, or powerless. Instead, God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us «and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. », (Romans 5:5). It is a complete transformation of our lives” (“Reconciliation,” Woodruff, W., Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, Elwell, W., ed., Baker Books, 1996).
One could argue that the entire Bible narrates the story of Christian reconciliation. Initially, we were in the Garden of Eden as friends of God, unashamed and in communion with God and one another. However, sin entered the world, rupturing all relationships. We turned into enemies of God, pursuing our own desires and living in direct opposition to Him. Consequently, the Bible chronicles God’s work of reconciling us to Himself. We strayed, and He pursued us. We were scattered like sheep, and He sent the Good Shepherd. We hid inDarkness, and He sent the True Light. We were dying in a self-made drought, and He sent the Living Water.
The grace and goodness of God are on full display in Christian reconciliation. “You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault” (Colossians 1:21-22;NLT).
As those who have been reconciled to God, we have been given “the ministry of reconciliation” «And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; », (2 Corinthians 5:18). We have been entrusted with “the message of reconciliation” (verse 19). We now take the gospel to a dying world, saying, “We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (verse 20, ESV). Jesus’ perfect sacrifice on the cross has made atonement for sin «Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. », (Hebrews 2:17). By His death, He brought harmony to our relationship with God. We plead with the unsaved to have faith in Christ and know the joys of Christian reconciliation.
