"Therefore if any (person) be in Christ Jesus, he is a new creature: old things are passed away and all things have become new. 18. And all things are of God, Who has reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation.”
In this call to the “ministry of reconciliation” I do not see a “reverend” after the name. I also do not see “international missionary,” or “North American missionary.” What is do see is that all of us who are part of the Christian faith has been given a “ministry of reconciliation.” "Christian" is not a profession; rather, it is a lifestyle. We are born again to minister in the name of Christ to the world. The main work of the church is not in the walls of our church buildings. I love churches. I have given fifty-six years, and counting, in serving churches. I actually enjoy what goes on in the walls of a church. But we assemble together, after which we scatter to our homes and businesses. We do not cease being Christians when we say “amen” at church. The main work of a church is to witness and minister to the world. That includes every Christian. We are to seek to bring people into reconciliation with Jesus Christ. This is the work of the church. This means that when we scatter into the world, we should actually reflect the righteousness of Jesus Christ to the world. I’m not referring to a shallow, pharisaic righteousness. I’m referring to just watching what we say and do in our encounters in the world. I’m referring to actually share the love of Jesus Christ to the people in your world. When we do not live close to Jesus we give the world a mixed message. The world is really looking for us to be changed, to be different. I’m not saying that no one does this. I know a lot of fine Christian people who are serving as reconcilers. I have been the pastor of a lot of these people. But more Christians need to realize their personal ministry of reconciliation. We first live it, and when the opportunity arises we share it. We are to seek to bring people into reconciliation with each other. We really need to work on this in our churches. Don’t you agree? We Christian people have a ministry of reconciliation to each other. We need to love each other, “warts and all.” We need to be reconcilers at church and at work. In Matthew 5:9, Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers : for they shall be called the people of God.” That’s heavy stuff! People are going to know that we are children of God when we seek to make peace between people. We need to be at peace within ourselves and share that peace with the world. I hope that you get the point: You are called to be a reconciler. Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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