What does it mean to you to hear that God has “reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18)?
There is an erosion of civility that is reflected in our daily interactions with one another. We only have to look to the news cycle to be inundated with disturbing events. A simple drive can result in road rage or violence. The killing of unarmed Black man, women and children signals radical race division. It blinds us to the fact that we are made one in Christ. Mass shootings occur with regularity. This election cycle becomes antagonistic as we draw closer to Election Day.
Like the prophet Habakkuk (1:3), we ask, “Why do you make me see wrongdoing and look at trouble? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise.” God does not leave us to face these hard truths along. Perhaps the better question is: “As God’s people, how are we to meet the world in our daily interactions as reconcilers and ambassadors for Christ?”
This message is excerpted from the Bible study “Treasure in clay jars” by Angela Shannon in the July/August 2017 Gather magazine.
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