Reconciliation

Reconciliation, by definition, assumes a previous state of alienation and hostility caused by the offensive actions of one or both parties.

This Chapter for me is by far my favorite. As I look back on my life through the good and bad times, I can truly say the only reason I am at the place I am today is because of the pure act of God's grace and mercy on me.

I would not be in the place I am today if it was not for God's act of reconciling us to Himself through the death of His son.

So, in this chapter Bridges tells us a story about a boy named Justin. Justin basically got in trouble and was disciplined by his parents. He was prideful and sinful and decided that he would move out because he wanted a "life." Long story short, after leaving his family to live with his friend he began to realize what he had lost. His heart began to change, and he missed his family and had realized what he had done. After a few weeks, Justin went back to his house and apologized to his parents for the way he had acted and rebelled against them. He had realized that they disciplined him the way they did because they loved him.

The story of Justin's reconciliation with his parents illustrates to some degree our reconciliation to God. In his case, the alienation from his parents was due entirely to his own sinful rebellion. Though he blamed his parents, the whole thing was solely his fault.

Just like Justin, it is our sin that has separated us from God. The only difference is Justin's reconciliation to his parents was due to his change of heart, his attitude of repentance, and his actions of acknowledging his sin and asking their forgiveness.

But in our case we were powerless to do anything. (Romans 5:6) We could not help ourselves; nor would we even want to do so, left to ourselves. As Paul wrote in Romans 8:7, "The sinful mind is hostile to God." In our natural state, not one of us would want to be reconciled to God.

Bridges reminds us that the good news of the gospel is that God Himself took the initiative by sending His Son to die in our place to satisfy His justice and absorb His wrath. He did more than that. He did all that was necessary to secure our reconciliation, including our change of heart.

Another thing that is good news would be the fact that our reconciliation to God is permanent and eternal. Because Christ accomplished it for us, there is no possibility it can ever be undone. For the sake of Christ, God will always accept us.

So far this book has helped remind me of so many things. Every work of Christ is directed toward God and though I will fail over and over I must continue to strive to do the same. It is His Law that was obeyed, His justice that was satisfied, His wrath that was propitiated, His holy presence from which our sins were removed, His curse from which we were redeemed, and alienation from His divine presence that has been reconciled.