22. Reconciliation
The Father’s act of dealing with our sin is more than just the removal of the penalty of sin; it is the restoration of our relationship with Him.
2 Corinthians 5:18,19 (ESV) All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
In our previous readings, we have explored the wonderful truth that the Father has dealt with the penalty of our sin through Jesus’ death. He paid the price for our sin on our behalf. We could say that we have been focusing on the legal side of salvation. We are sinners and deserve death, but the Father sent Jesus to die in our place so we can receive His forgiveness and have life. As we have seen, this is redemption.
As amazing and as thrilling as this is, we need to understand that God’s pardoning of our sin through Jesus is not an end in itself. Jesus’ death on the cross did more than deal with the penalty of sin; it restored our relationship with the Father.
Verse 19 above states, “... in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself…”.
Salvation is about reconciliation. Jesus came to bring us back into relationship with the Father.
The fantastic news of the Gospel is not only about getting to heaven. But about coming back into contact with the Father. Our sin estranged us from His love, but now in Christ, He has reconciled us back into the relationship that we were initially created to enjoy.
Sin severed Adam and Eve’s relationship with the Father. Before their fall, they enjoyed an intimate, loving fellowship with Him as He walked and talked with them in the Garden. This exchange of openness, innocence and trust, however, descended into shame, guilt and separation. But now, through Jesus, this broken relationship has been restored.
Jesus put it this way in John Chapter 14.
John 14:6 (ESV) Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
We often focus on the truth that Jesus is the way to heaven, but from this verse, we see that Jesus is not only the way to heaven. He is the way back to the Father. Christianity is not only about forgiveness and the removal of our sin. It is about coming home to the One who made us. To the One who passionately loves us and has done all that is necessary to deal with our sin and bring us back to Himself. This is the central message of the Gospel. Not only heaven but relationship with the Father.
Further reading: Rom 5:1; Eph 2:13-17; Col 1:21, 22
Jesus came to bring us back into relationship with the Father.
Imagine the intimate relationship Adam and Eve had with the Father before they sinned.
You, too, now have this relationship with Him.
This is an extract from my free book Knowing God as Father, which is available for download at Knowing God as Father.