I’m not sure if Justin Carter is a real person, but his story is a great picture of reconciliation.

Reconciliation, by definition, assumes a previous state of alienation and hostility caused by the offensive actions of one or both parties.

When Paul described us as God’s enemies, he was not at that point describing our sinful hatred of God, but rather His righteous hatred of us because of our sin.

A total reconciliation demands a total effort by the offending party to make amends… God did not wait for a change of heart on our part. He did all that was necessary to secure our reconciliation, including our change of heart.

When Jesus satisfied the justice of God and propitiated the wrath of God, He did all that was required to remove the enmity of God toward us.  By His death He bridged the vast gulf of divine alientation between us and objectively restored us to a position of friendship and favor with God.

Think about what this means.  We ourselves should have been on our faces before God, imploring Him to be reconciled to us.  Instead, we see God reconciling us to Himself through the death of His Son, and then appealing to us to receive that reconciliation.  What a pure act of grace and mercy on God’s part!

Happily for us, our reconciliation to God is permanent and eternal.

This is indeed amazing.  Here’s the story so far: Jesus Christ

• Perfectly obeyed the Law of God (substitution)
• Satisfied the justice of God (sacrifice)
• Exhausted the wrath of God (propitiation)
• Removed our sins from the presence of God (expiation)
• Redeemed us from the curse of God (redemption)
• Reconciled us to God (reconciliation)

Quesitons for discussion:

• As you think back over what you’ve read so far in this book, what picture of God emerges?  What’s He like?  What’s important to Him?
• God has committed to us the message of reconciliation to us.  Who helped you become reconciled to God?  Whom have you helped?

Categories: Summer Reading '07, five15 blog