"Reflecting Christ"

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 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 trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:17-19 NASB).

Recently Kyle was going through some of my old sermon tapes (yes, tapes) and found a sermon I preached in 1989 from 2 Corinthians 5:18-21, titled “Ambassadors for Christ.” What was interesting about this message is same text was also referenced in a message we heard from another pastor recently. My curiosity got the best of me and I went and dug it out of my hard files to read what I had written. I must confess that some of it was VERY dated, while other parts of it were still as true today as they were then. One of those truths is revealed in our reading today.

The Apostle Paul declares that we are new in Christ. As a result of that transformation we have been given a “ministry of reconciliation.” There has been much discussion, especially recently, about what that means. What is this ministry of reconciliation? Well, without getting into a long discourse, let me use a simple illustration. It is the same one I used in 1989!

The rainbow is one of God’s most beautiful gifts in the world of nature. Millions of tiny drops of water act together to reveal the rich colors of light which are otherwise invisible to the naked eye. Each drop of water reflects and refracts a beam of light from the sun until it reveals one of the seven shades of light to any person standing with their back to the sun. So, here it is, don’t miss this part: God desires us to function like those droplets of water, reflecting the character and glory of Jesus Christ until those who have turned away from Christ see and understand the richness of His grace and love!

That doesn’t mean we all do the same “thing.” Our action of revealing the glory and grace of Christ may be quite different because, like each droplet, we are different. The key is in working together, in concert with one another, as the body of Christ, to be that reflective surface. But, that is exactly why God has gifted us all differently. There is no one answer or activity that will insure the ministry of reconciliation. It takes all of us, doing all we are called to do. As good as some “programs” are they are only a tool to allow the Church to do the work. Celebrate your uniqueness. Band together with other believers and let the light of Christ pass through your life to reflect the wonder of the gift Christ has secured for us in the cross!