(Weekend of June 23/24) The Gift of Reconciliation

"When we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son" Romans 5:10

Isn't it amazing that we -- sinners -- can be reconciled to God? We can be forgiven, restored, cleansed, and counted as righteous before the Lord. It is an amazing truth and reality that should never sound anything other than incredible.

The words of Jonathan Edwards are profound in this regard. He writes, "God stands ready to pardon those who have gone on in such a way for many years together. He is wholly willing to forgive and blot out all their transgressions so that they shall no more be mentioned -- not merely to forgive them but to abate them into His favor and to the enjoyment of Himself. And all this is only upon their turning from their sins and trusting in His for mercy in His way, without any satisfaction at all made by them or provided by any other than Himself."

Our forgiveness is owed entirely to God's grace and mercy. We are not forgiven because of our attempts to make up for our sin. In fact, any such effort is an offense to the Lord. We have been reconciled to God because of the work of His Son.

Think about the mercy of the Lord displayed on the cross. Listen again to the words of Edwards as he writes, "Christ was ready to forgive His crucifiers, who had treated Him with such indignity and cruelty, He who was the Lord of heaven and earth...Christ so loved us while we were His enemies that He cheerfully laid down His life under the most extreme torments to save us from a deserved hell and to bring us to eternal glory."

Take a moment and meditate on all Christ did for you. You were a sinner, condemned without any human hope. Yet, in His goodness, Jesus died for you and satisfied the wrath of God the Father. We who were desperately guilty received heaven-sent grace and through the cross of Jesus, have been reconciled unto God.

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