“This wonderful message of reconciliation.”
What is the hardest part of Christmas for you?
Fighting not to be caught up in the hustle and bustle? The stress of finances? The pressure to present perfectly? The people you need to pretend to like?
Hidden behind all the tinsel, lights, and gift wrap lies a secret dread for many – strained relationships coming together under one roof for the sake of the Holidays.
The restoration of broken relationships during Christmas is left to the nostalgia of Hallmark movies and Hollywood magic. Tolerate over reconcile defines most of our mantras headed into the holiday festivities.
Yet, at the heartbeat of Christmas, nestled in swaddling cloths, is a bundle of love that calls us to be unified with one another over ignoring one another. The very birth of Christmas is centered around “the wonderful message of reconciliation.”
Christ came into the world to reconcile our broken relationship with God and with others.
This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.
So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
As God’s partners, we beg you not to accept this marvelous gift of God’s kindness and then ignore it. (2 Corinthians 5:17-6:1, NLT, bold added for emphasis)
God’s beautiful gift of grace at the core is undeserved reconciliation with Him.
He made Christ who knew no sin to [judicially] be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we would become the righteousness of God [that is, we would be made acceptable to Him and placed in a right relationship with Him by His gracious lovingkindness]. (2 Corinthians 5:21, AMP)
Our faith unwraps the marvelous unearned gift that gives us a position as a child of God. Out of gratitude, we answer the call to be His ambassadors of the Good News that His gift of grace is offered to everyone. We put aside our differences and love others in a selfless way like the star directed the wise men; we point others to Christ.
One of the Great Grandmothers of Christmas had faith that initiated a plan that would not only save her own life, but also preserve the life of everyone in her family.
Grandma Rahab
(Joshua 2 & 6)
Known as a prostitute, Rahab, like others in the city of Jericho, had heard the stories of the Exodus. While everyone lived in fear of their God, Rahab’s fear turned into faith as she stated, “For the LORD your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below” (Joshua 2:11, NLT).
Would this God take notice and save her?
Grandma Tamar’s story has a thread of righteousness. Grandma Rahab’s story has a scarlet red thread of salvation.
Unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother, your brothers, and all your family into your house. If any of them go outside your house into the street, their blood will be on their own heads; we will not be responsible. As for those who are in the house with you, their blood will be on our head if a hand is laid on them. (Joshua 2:18-19, NIV)
Salvation was given, like the blood of the lamb, over the doors of the Israelites during the last plague. Rahab and her family were saved because she tied a scarlet red cord to the window.
A result of obedience and faith weaves Rahab’s story into the legacy of Christ and reminds us that salvation is for everyone.
What is this wonderful message of reconciliation?
Christmas can lead us to uncomfortable situations with others. Yet the very gift of Christmas compels us to have reconciliation at the heart of all we do.
“And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him.” (2 Corinthians 5:18, NLT, bold added for emphasis)
Before Christ came into the world to officially establish the ministry of reconciliation, Great Grandma Rahab did not think only of herself. She considered and included her family in her deal with the two Israelite spies. Think about your family dynamics and the one person you would rather not be around. Rahab did not exclude, but included everyone.
God does not exclude, but invites everyone.
We, too, are to seek to include, especially at Christmas. Can we slow ourselves down and allow the gift of grace to work out any hardness of our hearts so we can be softened to love, share the good news, and be reconciled with others?
I pray that the warmth of Christmas melts your heart for those who God loves. May your heart grow as you make room to love others in new ways this season and embrace the role of a minister of reconciliation. So be it, in Jesus’ name.
Meditate: God has included me.
Reflect: Are there any people pieces of the Holiday season that are difficult for you? How can you bring reconciliation into your experiences this year? What does the word “include” look like to you? Have you ever felt excluded?
Deeper: (As you read through these additional verses, ask the Spirit to give you wisdom, and teach you more about how we are to be ministers of reconciliation.). Joshua 2 & 6; 2 Corinthians 5:17-6:1; John 13:31-35; Philippians 2:2-4
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(Bible References: NLT – New Living Translation, NIV – New International Version, AMP – Amplified Version)
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