12-20-2023

Good Morning All,

               2 Corinthians 5:19; “that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.”

          One of the most popular genres in movies is the one where two people who have been long apart from each other are reunited together again.  It is most common in the Christmas movies.  Someone, a long-lost daughter, or a long-lost son, returns home.  It might be because a parent is sick, or the family business is in trouble.  Sometimes it is that the long-lost soul has run out of options and has no choice but to come home.  Sometimes it gets the double and the long-lost soul also reconnects with the long-lost love interest.  So, we can have the reconciliation of child and parent, the renewed love interest and the first snow for Christmas.  It is an instant classic!

    Ok, that maybe was a little sarcastic but most of us like a story where people get back together.  One of the more popular MASH shows was when Hawkeye and Radar reconnect two Korean brothers, one North Korean and one South Korean, so they can talk to each other.  People loved the way that love of family trumped politics.  Most of us enjoy it when people get back together.

    So, if you enjoy those types of stories, the Bible is the book for you.  The entire Bible is one long continuing story of God reconciling man to himself and to other men.  It starts with everything perfect; man in perfect harmony with God and each other.  Yet soon sin entered the world and man was soon split apart from God and from each other.  Then we read of all the pain and the problems that exist in this world because we do not care for our fellow man.  We read how greed, envy, jealousy, lust, and other selfish passions soon rule man and lead him even farther from God and his mercy.

    Yet God chooses to reconcile man, to bring man back into fellowship with him.  He does this by having Jesus come into this world and begin the healing process.  This process includes Jesus’ death and resurrection, as a payment and a guarantee that the reconciliation is under way.  Each day it gets closer to completion.  So, as we go along the journey, we have opportunities to reconcile with our fellow man and to tell them how they can be reconciled to Jesus.  This is part of our goal in this life to bring people back together; first with God and then with each other.

    This reconciliation is a major part of the Bible.  It is a major theme throughout Scriptures.  Think of the parables, the lost sheep, the lost coin, the Prodigal Son are all about reconciliation.   The man who fields the pearl is about God reconciling with you.  God wants us back together as a happy family.  So be part of God’s plan, rejoice in the reconciliation to God and seek to reconcile with your brothers and sisters.  It will bring contentment to your life.

Father, guide us as we reconnect with those in our lives with whom we are at odds.  Help us to restore one another to the peaceful and loving family which you first created.  Guide with your Spirit of peace and hope.  Be with those who are especially hurt by the estrangement of this world.  Give them your peace.  In the precious name of Jesus, we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret