by Pastor Afolabi Oladele

In the last post, we established that we were to represent Him in the ministry of reconciliation.

2 Corinthians 5:17-20 (MSG)—anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life emerges! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you.

How? you ask. In Christ. God put the wrong on Him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God; an elaboration of the words spoken to Paul in Acts 26:17-18 (MSG):

I’m sending you off to open the eyes of the outsiders so they can see the difference between dark and light, and choose light, see the difference between Satan and God, and choose God. I’m sending you off to present my offer of sins forgiven, and a place in the family, inviting them into the company of those who begin real living by believing in me.

You will note in these scriptures a reflection of John 20:21; that our commission of sharing this good news is not rules, neither regulations nor dictates of the various denominations. We were sent to:

1. Serve, not to be served (Matthew 20:28) because in God’s kingdom power is at the bottom (humility, self-abasement), and it is from there that the Lord Jesus Christ governs and conquers. We do not represent Christ unless we are willing to put on the apron of humility and wash our brother’s feet even if his name is Judas!
2. Do God’s will and not our own. What a challenge in a world where we are constantly short-changed and cheated, with emotions seeking vengeance! God already settled this in 1 John 2:17 that this world and the earth-dwellers will pass away but whosoever does the will of God abides forever.

To miss what we were asked to do is to miss the purpose for which we were born. Should we let that happen? Selah.