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. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled. Colossians 1:20-21
When a man feels that his brother has done wrong towards him, bitter feelings often arise in his heart. This may lead to acts of revenge, resulting in alienation. Reconciliation in such cases requires both parties to concede fault.
When a man kneels at the foot of the cross, an amazing reconciliation takes place. Hostility gives place to peace, suspicion to trust, and hatred to love. And while feelings of ill-will may have existed in the sinner towards God, such feelings were the furthest thing from God’s mind.
In the pursuit of idols and lusts, we made war with heaven. Our ‘wicked works’ alienated us from God, and in heart we determined Him an enemy. Yet in spite of all this, no trace of bitterness towards us existed in His heart. The desire for revenge was far from the heart of God.
On the contrary, the Father’s heart overflowed with such love that He sent His Son to die for the stubborn rebel. Indeed, ‘God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us’ (Romans 5:8). If God already loved us to the point of giving His own Son, the reconciliation which needs to take place is not on the part of God, but ours. ‘We love him, because he first loved us’ (1 John 4:9).
Petty human feelings often blur our understanding of the character of God, and we misunderstand the gospel. As God Himself declares: ‘Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself’ (Psalm 50:21).
Yet with an elevated conception of the thoughts of God, we can understand how the holy martyrs such as Stephen called upon God to forgive their murderers. With such purity of soul in the church, it is little wonder how the gospel message went forward with power. And if we attain the same appreciation of the character of God, we shall be likewise transformed. Then, the gospel message will once again go forward with power.
Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. 2 Corinthians 5:20
Christopher Sparks