Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their wrongdoings against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

2 Corinthians 5:18-19 (ESV)

 

Many of people think that God stood by and watched Jesus be crucified, yet the Apostle Paul tells us that God was with Christ and in Christ the whole time. This is indeed an amazing mystery full of grace and wonder.

Though Jesus felt anguished and abandoned by God, but God never left Jesus for a moment. Rather, God the Father and God the Son with God the Spirit were actively working together to fully save us. Faith in what God has done for us brings us peace with God. This is the nature of true repentance. We turn our hearts to God and follow Him, knowing that God no longer holds our sin against us.

We are not only reconciled to God, but He also invites us to participate in His ministry of reconciliation. Whether we are in worship ministry, children ministry, or any other ministry, we are calling people to be reconciled to God. This means we cannot be unconcerned about the salvation of others.

God in Christ has welcomed and embraced everyone, and His Spirit enables us to draw them closer to our Father of light. Our difficulty is not one of inconvenience, but of obedience. Obedience is all about being perfectly loved by God, and when we are aware of it, we will gladly do whatever God wants of us.

Remember that God never asked us to do it on our own. He promised to be with us if we would follow Him. God is proactive. As we learn to love and serve others, He anticipates our needs and will provide for them according to His riches in glory (Philippians 4:19).