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.
2 Corinthians 5:18-19
In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, he describes the ministry of reconciliation to which believers are called. He writes that God reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and now we are called to reconcile the world to Christ. He calls us Christ’s ambassadors, representing Christ and sharing His good news to a broken world. I marvel that we are called to carry the most incredible message of all time to the world! I wonder how many of us take this seriously – this business of being an ambassador. I imagine that the ambassadors all over the world take their job seriously, but do we?
What does it require of us to take the message of the gospel out to others? There is a cost involved – a willingness to be bold and to share what Christ has done for us. Paul writes in II Corinthians, Chapter 4 that God has made His light shine in our hearts so that we now have the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. The light God shines in us reflects His face in His Son’s face. As we carry the message of Christ to others, they will see the face of God in us! Paul drives his message home by telling us that we are jars of clay that carry this treasure of Christ: Christ broken in us as seen in our lives that are pressed in by despair, persecution, and the struggles of life. (II Corinthians 4:7) The fact that we carry the sufferings of Christ and do not despair gives our life power to be witnesses for Christ, sharing His message of reconciliation: …pressed on every side but not crushed, perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed. (v.7-10)
Let us be a people willing to be broken, willing to carry the message of Christ out to a broken world to bring hope and reconciliation.
Heavenly Father,
Help me to remember that I carry this treasure (Christ) in a jar of clay (my body) to show that all power within me comes from You. I call on Your power within me to share the message of Christ and His gift of reconciliation and hope.
In Jesus’ name, Amen
