2 Corinthians 5:20
Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.
In the verse above, being reconciled to God has nothing to do with salvation but everything to do with our walk with God. Paul was saying that as ambassadors for Christ, we ought to be reconciled to God. In other words, you can never be the representative of God that you need to be to reach others and influence others for right without being reconciled to God. So, what does it mean to be reconciled to God?
First, it means to be in harmony with God. Nothing is more grieving to the ear than to hear groups sing that are not in harmony. In fact, when they are not in harmony, it grieves your hearing. I am sure you have been in services when a group tries its best, but you sit there listening and cringe when they sing because they are not all hitting the notes they should hit to harmonize. Likewise, those who watch us represent God can tell when we are not in harmony with God, and it causes them not to want what we have. You cannot be the ambassador for Christ when you are not in harmony with Christ in belief, practice, and appearance. When you are in harmony with Christ, you and Christ will be in tune with each other.
Second, to be reconciled to God means to make peace with God. In other words, you must reconcile your differences with God concerning your life and the trials you face. You cannot be in harmony with God when you are in disagreement with Him concerning the trials you face in life. At some point, you must make peace with God that He knows what He is doing in your life when it comes to trials. I don't have to like the trials I face to be reconciled to God, but I must accept that He knows what He is doing and trust Him if I am to be at peace with Him. You cannot be the ambassador for Christ that you are supposed to be without making peace with God that the trials He allows you to face are for good.
Third, to be reconciled to God means to come to terms with God. In other words, you must accept that your purpose in life is to represent Christ. You will never be reconciled to God without dying to self and accepting that your purpose for living is to be His ambassador. To be reconciled to God means you must burn your dreams and accept His will for your life. Now, God’s will may be to be in full-time Christian service, or to be a lay person who works a full-time job in the world; however, your purpose in life is to be a full-time servant of God as His ambassador no matter where you work.
The key to being reconciled to God is to adjust your life to match what God wants you to be. To be reconciled to God does not mean that God lowers Himself to my level of living, but I raise my standard of living to how God wants me to live. God will never lower Himself to our sinful standard of living just to be reconciled to us; it is our responsibility as His ambassador to raise our manner of living to meet God’s standard. I cannot be reconciled to God by lowering God to what I want to be, but I am reconciled to Him by determining to conform myself to His image.
Are you a good ambassador for Christ? Are you reconciled to God? You will never be a good representative to reach others for Christ or influence others for right without being reconciled to God. Your life will make its greatest impact only when you reconcile your life to God and His standard for living.
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